Ronin Adventures...
by creativeinsomniac
Summary: The Ronin Warriors...plus a new red-head...plus new adventures...yeah...cussing and one horribly written sex scene...
1. Painfull Surprises

"La de da

"La de da...another boring hour-and-a-half of Government." I yawned, not knowing that the teacher was right behind me. "Well excuuuuuuuuuse me if Government is not your favorite class!" she retorted and thundered to the chalkboard. She furiously scribbled a bunch of illegible instructions for the class. She then sat down and wrote me up for rudeness. I rolled my eyes and sat as close to the door as I could. 'Only a week into school and I am already getting written up. They should make a law against writing up seniors!' I thought to myself happily. Less than a year was all that I had left. I pulled out my portfolio and grabbed a few sheets of drawing paper. This was the best class for sketching people. I had only a few people in my class and they were good-looking. I set to work sketching the new boy. 

I finished the sketch and a strange feeling came over me, like I was being watched. A knock sounded at the door, which startled me. The teacher answered it and stepped back, eyes wide with fright. "I would like to see Amber please. It is important and she wont be coming back to class." A gruff voice said. I threw my books in my bag and began to walk out the door when I saw a huge figure standing there. It had on a dark green and maroon armor-type thing. Swords stuck out from odd places all over it. I stepped back and exclaimed that I was not going anywhere with that thing. It grabbed me and threw me against the wall across the hallway. I felt like I would pass out, but fought it. I took off down the hallway. 

I turned just as a bullwhip flashed by. It grazed my thigh, cutting through the thick denim of my jeans and leaving a thin line of blood. I ran full speed down the long hall and turned again to the right. I ran all the way down to the water fountain and turned right and went to the office. I gasped for them to call 911 and took off out the other door, dropping my books. I shouted for them to get my stuff to my parents if I didn't make it back. Just then, a dagger broke through the door I had just entered, flew through the small office and through the door I was about to exit through and finally came to rest in the concrete wall opposite the door. I whimpered, looking helpless, and dashed through the door. I sprinted down the hall, out the door to the left, across the campus and parking lot to the music hall and cowered in the girls bathroom. Gasping, I looked in the mirror and was amazed at what I saw. 

I had gotten much skinnier, my hair was longer and a beautiful shade of red, and I was wearing a sailor shirt with a pleated skirt! I backed away from the mirror in fright. What happened to me? I hopped up onto a toilet, and, using the walls of the stall, hoisted myself through the construction hole in the ceiling just as the thing burst through the bathroom door. I climbed through the series of construction walkways they built for repair and dropped through a hole into the Choir Hall. The students screamed as I dropped through and I hissed for them to be quiet. Too late. It came barging into the Choir Hall and grabbed me, kicking and screaming. I searched the room or friends and saw Matt. "Matthew! Tell my parents I will come back when I can! I promise! It is me, Amber! I promise!" I screamed desperately, still flailing wildly. Gasps went through the room. "Amber?" they murmured. The thing formed a portal which he pulled me through. I blacked out from exhaustion and fear. 

Flowers? Are those flowers I smell? I shook my head and opened my eyes. I was in an orchard. Trees surrounded me on all sides. They had beautiful pink cherry blossoms on them. I knew they were just that from watching so many Japanese Animations, but why was I surrounded by them? Cherry blossom trees are oriental and are from places like China, and…Japan. I wouldn't be seeing one unless… "You were in Japan?" a voice finished my thoughts. Startled, I quickly glanced around me. No one else was here. Then where is the voice coming from? "From me" it said as a figure appeared. It looked a bit like a girl, but as it moved closer I could see that it was a boy. He wore a dark-colored armor thing just like a Ronin Warrior in sub-armor. It was Anubis from Ronin Warriors! He looked familiar, though, but not in the sense as from the Ronin Warriors anime. He looked like.....what I saw...when I looked in the mirror! I looked like Anubis! What the hell happened to me and how can I reverse it! "You can't reverse it and this is your true self. You are my twin sister, and a warlord. You have an armor also. You belong here with me." he said aloud. I looked at him, then down, then at him again and laughed. "I am dreaming, right? I dream like this all the time! Ha ha ha ha! This is a dream. I wrote all of this and now I am just dreaming it a little more realistically than usual! Ok! Time to wake up!!!" I said hysterically. He smiled a bit sympathetically, knowing that this must be a big change for me, but quickly became serious again. "Talpa wishes to talk to you now." he said and dissappeared. 

A huge armor-looking floating head appeared. "Hello Amber! So nice to see you again. I assure you that you will not escape again!" it boomed. "What the HELL are you talking about?!?!" I screamed. "I don't know anything except that I use to watch you all in a cartoon. I made all of this up! I can't be living it! I want to go home!" I screamed. Talpa laughed. "Good! You need to experience a great deal of fear. It will turn you back tu us quickly, and increase your anger and battle drive! Be afraid and angry!" he said happily. He dissappeared and I angrily kicked a nearby tree. In an instant, the trees transformed into hot, molten lava. I screamed in agony and kicked through it to escape the burning, but I saw no escape. It never numbed, but instead all I felt was a burning, throbbing pain. It dissappeared and I was back at the orchard again, but I still felt the burning. "See how convincing I can be!" Talpa shouted. I balled up and cried. Anubis appeared and looked like he was fighting to get to me. He finally made it through and rushed to my side. "Are you ok?" he soothed. He picked me up and lay me in his lap. He stroked my hair and whispered soothing things in my ear, like a mother would a child that had just fallen off of a bicycle. I quit my sobbing and just sniffled. I had never experienced that much pain before in my entire life. He hugged me tightly and cursed Talpa. "How dare he attempt to incinerate my own kin in front of me!" he muttered. I lay against his chest and breathed slowly, trying to regain whatever sanity I had left. I finally felt myself drift off into darkness. I awoke breathing heavily. Had it all been only a dream? I hope it was not telling the future or something. I have had several of those dreams lately. What do they mean? I looked around. Where was I? I saw trees and telephone poles and weird-looking houses, one of which seemed oddly familiar, though I had never seen it before. I stood and went to the door, not knowing who would answer. 


	2. New Help: New Hope

"Let me go, dammit

"Let me go, dammit!" I screeched at the ugly boy across from me. He grinned and smacked me with the stick he held again. I cringed back against the wall and glared at him, hate emanating from my eyes and fists clenched. "I bet you are nothing with out that damned stick! Ha! Looks like someone SLAPPED YOU with an UGLY stick!!!!" I muttered...actually, now that you think about it, it was loud enough for him to hear, so it is not considered muttering. Anywho, it was enough for him to deliver another sharp smack that ultimately shut me up. 

It had been a month or so since I had last seen the guys. I had looked a bit different then. My hair was still growing out to its original length and it had not quite turned its real red color. I was now almost all the way transformed to my original self. I studied the wretched boy in front of me. He seemed familiar, but then again, I had not yet regained my full memory so I might be mistaken. He reminded me of my ex-boyfriend back in Anahuac. Ugly, repulsive, rude, stupid. Yep...ex-boyfriend all right! He had a horrid color of green hair that fell in wavy wisps just below his ear and swept back a little from what looked like times that he probably tucked the locks behind his ear. His head seemed way too big for his body, and his facial features were atrocious. His eyes were huge and snake-like, and he looked like he had scales! They were very faint, but you could see them. He was sporting a dark-green and maroon (and a few other colors) Gi. 

"What are you staring at, lovely beauty? Certainly not me!" he growled, jabbing me with the blunt end of the stick. I gasped for breath and scowled at him. "Bring her to me." came the booming voice that I remembered from my first day a month or so ago. He was the head who took the beautiful orchard away and left me in lava. I shut my eyes and began shaking. The ugly boy took the chain that held my shackles and led me to a big room with beautiful tapestries everywhere. I marveled for only a moment before returning my attention to what was to come. The head appeared before us. "That is all, Sekhmet. You may return to your quarters." It said to the ugly boy. I watched as he bowed and disappeared. I blinked a few times, staring at the head. I saw energy waves being emitted from it, and I blacked out. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

Ryo stared out the window of the room at the stars and wondered to himself. He missed the brunette girl. She had been gone for over a month now. It was his fault. These thoughts plagued his mind for a long while. She had shown up at his house looking very confused. She spoke no Japanese, so he had to have a translator come in and translate what they said to each other. She said that she had been transported here somehow and that she really did not know where 'here' was. He watched her expressions thoughtfully as she explained everything to the translator, a handsome blond boy with a wisp of hair always covering one eye. He translated it to Ryo carefully. Ryo nodded and said "thank you" and bid the blonde farewell. The brunette watched the handsome boy move fluidly around with admiration. 

(just in case you don't get it, this is a change in views...) 

"My name is Amber." I blurted. He glanced at me with surprise and tilted his head to the side in confusion. I stood, pointing to myself. "Amber" I said slowly and then pointed to him with a questioning look. A spark of recognition went off and he chuckled. "Ryo." he said, pointing to himself. I sighed, thinking how hard it will be to learn all of this until I will be able to get home. "Ryo" I said, grinning. "A...Amber" he struggled with the foreign word. I grinned, nodding. I walked to the window and looked out. *How am I going to get home?* I thought, staring out at the beautiful scene. I felt a presence behind me and I turned, seeing Ryo watching me. He waved for me to follow him. He led me to a room that had some women's clothes. I started to reach for a large size when he stopped me, chuckling. He pointed at me and at the clothes, shaking his head. I cocked my head to the side and looked in a mirror nearby. I was a toothpick!!! I jumped, startled that that was me in the mirror. I looked down and put my hands around my waist. I could put my hands around it and touch fingers! I glanced at Ryo, embarrassed that I was making such a big deal. I pointed to myself and then spread my hands out wider to how big I use to be. He grinned and nodded, handing me a beautiful GI to wear. I stepped behind the changing foldout and put it on. I emerged sparkling in the beautiful clothes. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. I chuckled and ducked behind the foldout. He appeared suddenly over me, startling me and making me fall to the floor. I rubbed my head, blushing. He smiled, leaned over and hoisted me up. I stared up into his beautiful blue eyes and grinned. He did the same. We stayed like that for what seemed like forever. I finally lay my head down against his chest. He gasped and flinched, a little startled at the boldness of the move and put his arms hesitantly around me. I grinned. *This is so cool!!!* I thought. I moved my head up to look at him again and he moved his face down and kissed me. I smiled and tears welled up and I returned it. He finally moved back, eyes wide with surprise, and whispered a strain of affectionate-sounding words. I had only known him for maybe 2 hours. I looked at the floor, embarrassed. He flushed and hurried to find some shoes and such. *Why was this all so strangely familiar?* 

"Ryooooooooooooo!" I heard a woman shout. I quickly darted my head in the direction of the door. A woman who looked a bit like Ryo was staring at me, obviously very confused and angry to see me here. She moved forward, pointing at what I had on and saying a strain of angry-sounding words. I moved away slowly and was about to run when Ryo put his hands on my shoulders. He smiled down at me and went and led the woman, probably his mother, out of the room. I heard them talk for a while and she came back in, smiling and bowing. I grinned back at her and attempted a shaky bow. She led me to an empty room and motioned for me to go in. I walked to a dresser and searched for some pajamas. I found some and put them on and went to sleep... Well....I woke up in these shackles with no memory of how I got from the comfortable bed to this cold chamber with shackles on. And then all of what I mentioned at the beginning happened. What on earth am I going to see when I wake up this time? 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

"Up here, bucket-head!" I heard someone shout. I tried opening my eyes, but nothing happened. "Whoa, check out ugly." I heard a softer voice shout. Pain shot up my body as someone jerked me around a bit. My eyes shot open and I screamed. There were gasps coming from the people around me. I saw five guys in different colored sub-armors. One had an orange armor and short, grayish-blue hair. Another had blue hair and a dark-blue armor. Another with reddish-brown hair and a light-blue armor was just standing up and one near him with blond hair sweeping over one eye and green armor was also. The last one was behind them all, visibly injured. He had black hair and a red armor. He reminded me of Ryo, the dark-haired boy who had taken me in before I ended up in shackles. Maybe it is him! He was quite muscular and this boy has the same color complexion and such. I opened my mouth to shout to him, but before I could say anything I had been hurled into the air. In an instant, I was imbedded in the side of a building. Pain seared through my body and, yet again, I blacked out. 

"Ryo!" I heard someone say sharply. I tried to breathe, but it didn't work. I opened an eye wearily and stared at the boy I kissed a month or so before. He now had me in a chokehold against the wall, glaring at me. He muttered a strain of words and was about to punch me when I whispered his name. He faltered a bit and loosened his hold on my neck. "Please don't hurt me! I am the girl you helped a month ago!" I blurted quickly. His eyes widened as he recognized that I was speaking English. I shuddered a bit, coughing, trying to catch my breath. He sniffed in my direction and stormed off. The blond moved up and spoke to me in English. He put my head against his and a jolt came from his into mine. I hopped back a bit, startled. He spoke to me in Japanese, and I understood it! I tried to say something, but I was a bit unsuccessful. I could only understand it, but didn't know how to speak it yet. I could only speak what he had just spoken to me. I looked to Ryo, who was still fuming. He glared back at me and muttered a strain of insults, one of which was strange. "Spawn of Talpa?" I repeated questioningly. He nodded and spat it at me again. "Who is Talpa?" I asked. He looked at me angrily and told me who. "The head?" I muttered, eyes widening. He stood and stormed up to me, slamming me against the wall by the throat once more. "No Ryo! Please don't! Can you not remember me?!?!" I shouted, trying to pull his hands away. "Where should I remember you from?" he spat. "You took me in and gave me clothes." I said, gasping for breath. "And you kissed me," I whispered. His face slowly changed to a look of surprise and then to sympathy. "You look very different, Amber." he said. "I still have more changing to do, I think." I whispered. He smiled, lowering his head and picking up one of my hands, kissing it gently. "I am sorry." he said softly. I blushed. He introduced me to the other warriors. The boy with the orange armor was named Kento. The one with light blue was Cye, dark blue was Rowen, and green was Sage. "Kento's Japanese name is Shuu, Cye's is Shin, Rowen's is Touma and Sage's is Seiji. Mine doesn't change." he explained to me. I nodded and grinned and shook each one's hand, greeting each of them. Just then the ground began to shake violently. I moved toward the guys and so did two other people. They introduced themselves as Mia and Yuli. Mia was a young woman around my age, maybe a little older. Yuli was a young boy around eight or nine years old. We huddled together, shaking from fright. The guys held their stance around us. When the shaking stopped, Ryo knelt down and opened his arms. I gratefully fell into them. He comforted me for a while. Sage and Rowen, who had gone up to see what was going on, came running back down the stairs. They said that people were trying to fire at the Castle. They were not having much luck. Sage hushed us and listened intensely to the air around him. I also heard something. 

...Thunk...Thunk...Thunk...Thunk...Crash!!! 

We shivered and huddled closer. A pair of glowing eyes appeared in the dark and attacked us. A chunk of the ground above me fell and knocked me out. A series of dark images and much pain occurred. When I awoke for real, I was in a clearing. I stood shakily and walked in a direction. I felt a strong urge to walk in that direction. I came upon a house. I collapsed against the door and used my last energy to knock. Everything went black again.


	3. Innocence Lost

sorry..forgot a chapter...here we goes!!! 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Noooooooo!" Kento screeched. He fell backwards, covering his head with his hands. His face turned an un-godly shade of red. Yuli stood up and laughed at the pitiful mass whimpering on the floor. The whole house erupted in a fit of laughter. Sage dropped his book, covered his eyes, shook his head, and broke into a fit of giggles, unable to keep his usual calm-and-cool persona. Ryo and Mia chuckled softly. Cye and Rowen were rolling on the ground in a thunderous fit of laughter. White Blaze perked up his ears and purred a curious growl. He then lay his head down and went back to sleep. It was a rainy day, too horrible to go outside, so they were all making the best of their time inside by chatting, reading, or playing video games. They were still laughing when there was a frantic knock at the door. Mia got up and glanced through the peephole. 

"Hmm. That's strange. No one there. Probably a prankster or something." she giggled. She opened the door and a cloth-covered mass fell through the door. She screamed and all the guys came running. None would touch it. Finally Kento dragged it into the bathroom. Mia started a warm bath and checked the breathing. Staggered....short...gasping. She ushered the guys out and proceeded to undress the body. She gasped at what she saw. A beautiful young woman with fiery red hair that was clotted with dirt and frizzed from days of not being washed. Wonderful, curving body, but her back...she had been horribly whipped with a cat-o-nine tails, or something similar. 

She hoisted the body up and lay her in the tub. A ripple effect of convulsions went through the woman and her eyes shot open. She mumbled a strain of un-recognizable speech. 'She must be American." thought Mia. She covered the woman in the bath and called for Sage. He was wide-eyed and red the whole time, but he translated it to Mia. "She was taken from her school and brought over here. She was severely beaten by several men. She escaped once and met a boy named Ryo. He took care of her, but she ended up back at the castle. More beatings. Escaped again and met...us! Was taken again and now here she is. She believe a red-headed man, claiming to be her twin, saved her." he translated. "She also said that I had transferred the power to learn Japanese into her before, but Talpa took it away. Well, here it goes again. Second times the charm!" he said as he again transferred it to her. 

She shook her head to clear it as he left the room. Mia helped her clean up. She then wrapped her in a towel and hurried her up to her room where she found some clothes for her. She told Mia that her name was Amber. They went back down the stairs carefully. Mia had also fixed up her back. Hair brushed, neatly dressed, she came down the stairs. The guys stood to greet her. She flushed and sat down on the couch nearest her. Cye sat down next to her and sage next to him. The others settled back in, casting glances at the woman. Ryo, for some reason unknown to anyone else, glared at her. She looked worriedly at him. He rose to his feet and started towards her. She frantically scrambled up and attempted to dash past him but he caught her and slammed her against the wall, holding her by the throat. He glared into her eyes with a hatred worse than any other. He growled everything in a low, fierce voice. "Spawn of Talpa, return to your master." Amber widened her eyes and tried to scream, her back crying out in pain. She clawed at his hands and kicked. "Dais." he spat. "Why must you come and cowardly approach us in the form of a woman?! You and your damned illusions!" She kicked at his stomach and made contact. He dropped her and she scrambled away. "Who the hell is Dais?" she cried, gasping for breath. She ran and hid behind Mia, who was waving Ryo away. "She is not Dais! Look!" she cried as she spun around, grabbed Amber, spun _her_ around and showed him her back. She had to laboriously peel the clothes off because Ryo had mashed it into her back. She yelped in pain and began whimpering. She sank to her knees and began crying. Ryo didn't believe it and just went to sulk in the corner. Amber crawled to the wall and leaned her side and head against it. Mia gently hugged her to quiet her sobs. She helped the woman up and brought her to an empty room where she slept.

The next morning, he was in her room, glaring at her again. "Mia is making me apologize to you, although I don't think I should. I still think you are allied to Talpa." She glanced around the room, ignoring him. "You know what? You are so wrong. Why would I ally with someone who beats the hell out of me every day. I would never ally with that scum" she finally replied, weakly. She stood and walked to the closet. "Well, are you going to watch me dress?" I asked with an attitude and a sly, mocking smile, a small attempt at getting his mood to lighten. He couldn't help smiling. I grabbed a pair of shorts, a shirt, and some under garments and headed to the bathroom. "I will have my eyes you you," he retorted, and left. "Hopefully not while I am dressing, you perv!" I shouted after him, erupting into a fit of laughter. 

Down stairs, the house was coming to life. Cye was cooking breakfast with Kento pacing behind him. Mia was telling the others what Amber had told her. Ryo stormed around the house. Amber came downstairs and looked around. Of course, her bad luck shined through and she ran right into Ryo. She scrambled out the door and as she was going down the steps, she stopped and Ryo ran into her. He grabbed her and shook her violently, but the whole time she kept her head facing the clearing. He stopped in curiosity and looked at the clearing. There stood a crucified woman. Ryo dropped Amber and she walked slowly to the crucifixion. She touched the woman's face and whispered a name over and over. "Kayla." She started crying again. Ryo walked over and asked who it was. She told him that it was her best friend from her captivity in Talpa's castle. Ryo looked sullenly to the body and to Amber. She shuddered and sank to the ground. "Do you like my present? It took her a while to die, she was so devoted to staying alive for you." a voice boomed through the clearing. A green figure emerged from the brush. It was Sekhmet, warlord of Venom. Ryo called forth his armor and stepped up to face him. Sekhmet didn't care about facing him. He dodged Ryo and threw him aside. He moved to Amber. He drew a blade and, using the side of it, lifted her head up by the chin to stair into her glaring eyes. He was surprised to find that her eyes were glowing yellow. A character, her soul, appeared on her forehead. Love. She began to glow all over, and an armor appeared around her. A voice, hers, but not hers, came out from her and said "Supreme Lightning Attack" and electrified the entire clearing. Sekhmet was gone. She stopped glowing and the armor disappeared and she fainted. Ryo, looking ashamed at his mistrust, hoisted her up and carried her limp body inside. The guys were surprised at his gentle handling of her instead of just throwing her around. He explained what happened, but when he moved to show the crucifixion, it was gone, no doubt charred by the extreme emission of electricity. Cye kept his eyes on her the whole time, a growing admiration showing in his eyes. He volunteered to carry her upstairs. He tucked her in and sat for a while, staring in disbelief at the fragile looking figure sleeping in the bed. Then he left and all was silent.

*~*~*~*~*~*yet another view change*~*~*~*~*~*

"Arugh" I moaned as I pushed myself up onto my elbows. Searching the room, I concluded that I was in the guys' room. I heard the shower running, and then it stopped. The door opened and in came Ryo in a towel. I grinned and whistled, saying "take it off...take it ALL off!" and couldn't help but bursting into laughter. Ryo, startled, jumped and off came the towel. He turned red and dashed back to the bathroom. I burst into a more violent fit of laughter and, looking down, I noticed there was no bed under me any more. I glance at you and my eyes tear up. "Catch me please." **_BUT YOU DONT AND I FALL AND IT REALLY HURTS AND I CRY!!! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!!!...._**ok back to the story. "If you are up can you hand me some clothes....PLEASE!!!" he shouted. 

Laughing (and crying...ouch), I brought him his clothes and dashed to 'my' room to change. I put on my usual attire consisting of a shirt, tied above my waist and a pair of shorts and headed outside to try and exercise. I did a few regular things like push-ups and sit-ups, and then moved into some aerobic exercises. I was so caught up in the exercises that I didn't notice the guys who wandered outside to view the spectacle. When I ended the aerobics, I glanced to the house where I noticed the audience. They were sitting there staring at me in surprise. I clapped my hands together and did a bow. They glanced at each other and started laughing. I grinned and pranced off into the woods to begin a short jogging session. I breathed in the sweet smell of the flowers blossoming around me. I leaped up and caught hold of a cherry tree branch and did an ally-oop into the tree. I climbed higher into the tree and surveyed the area. It was quiet and calm. I closed my eyes and relaxed as the cool wind whipped at my hair. It was peaceful, quiet...A thought jolted me from my serenity. 

Quiet? It is not supposed to be quiet in a forest unless...My mind raced as I tried to mentally see why the woods were so quiet. Then I saw a parting of the brush as something, a very BIG something, was heading straight for me at an alarming pace. I scrambled down the tree and with lightning speed I ran to the house, into the house, and into the living room. Gasping for breath, I tried to relay the warning as quickly as possible. I collapsed on the floor, still gasping and trembling from the shock of my speed. I had never done that before that I know of. When my convulsions ended, the guys were gone. I stood shakily and looked around sadly. "Where is everyone?" I whimpered. I padded to the window and looked out apon a war scene. Soldiers were battling the Ronins with the aid of the Warlords. An arrow struck nearby and exploded. Rowen, I thought. *How did I know that?* I wondered if all that about my armor was a dream. Only one way to find out. 

I grasped my heart-shaped pendant by instinct and concentrated real hard. With a glowing light filling the room, I was transformed into a yellow sub-armor. I walked to the door and opened it slowly. I walked onto the battlefield, sub-armor glowing, and moved towards the Ronins. Soldiers, in shock, moved out of the way. Warlords braced themselves. One, apparently the leader, stood in shock. I looked into a puddle and discovered that y eyes were glowing yellow. "Cool" I whispered aloud with a grin, showing a set of wicked-looking fangs. I continued my steady, slow pace toward the Ronins. One Warlord leapt at me. In a flash of light I was somewhere else. I looked around and I was on the other side of the Ronins. "Wow" I muttered. Once again I concentrated and words came to my lips. "Armor of Lightning...Tao Ai!" In a cluster of light and cherry blossoms I was transformed into my armor. With one quick, graceful motion I was airborne, heading straight for the warlord who had made a move toward me. A series of weapons flashed through my head and I settled with a spear-tipped staff. It materialized before me and I grasped it. More words came. "White Lightning Attack!" I brought the weapon down on him. He screamed and retreated back to his realm. I warily eyed the other three and moved toward the Ronins. The Warlords, along with the soldiers, retreated to their realm. In a flash, my armor and sub-armor were gone and I sank to my knees in exhaustion. The guys did the same and huddled around me. Ryo helped me gently up and to the living room. On the couch I fell asleep with my head in his lap. Mia eyed me jealously while I slept. I could feel her eyes on me. 

I woke up, once again, in the guys' room. I was in Ryo's bed and he was in a sleeping bag on the floor. Kento was snoring loudly and Rowen had his head under his many pillows to try and muffle the sound. Cye, Ryo, and Sage cringed in their sleep in rhythm with every snore. I grabbed a pillow and threw it as hard as I could at Kento's face. He sputtered and woke up. I could tell he was very pissed off. He threw it back at me as hard as he could and, of course, being the armor of Hardrock or strength, and the fact that they are ALL stronger than me, I went flying a few feet when it hit me. As luck would have it, I hit the moody Rowen, who was very angry. He started yelling something about finals and pushed me off of him violently. I hit the floor with a thud and sat, eyes wide and teary, staring back and forth from Kento to Rowen. The others were now awake, looking on in curiosity. Ryo crawled over to me. I now had my head in one hand and the other hand was clutching my stomach where the pillow hit me. He put one arm around me, and with the other he pulled my arm away from my stomach so he could inspect the damage. After he concluded that I was ok, he sat back against the side of the bed and stared at me for a while. I returned his stare with one of growing curiosity. He finally got up and helped me up. 

Kento was snoring again, so...I got the pillow and, yelled "charge" and jumped on top of him, covering his face with the pillow. Ryo burst into laughter and sat down on his bed, watching while Kento flailed and kicked wildly. He finally got out from under me. "Spawn of Talpa!" he screamed, picking me up by the throat and smashing me into the wall, sending a few things flying off of shelves. "This is becoming an every day thing now, eh?" I croaked with a smile, despite my suffocation. "Arugh!" he shouted and released his grip. He grabbed a pillow and a blanked out of the closed and disappeared out the door. He returned a moment later, picked me up, threw me over one shoulder, Ryo protesting, and carried me out of the room and down the stairs to the living room. He threw me onto the couch and returned up stairs, muttering a strain of insults. I laughed and turned on the television. 

A newsbreak showed that someone had broken into several stores in the last few nights. They showed an overhead view and the stores that had been hit. It was a pattern. A Japanese character. MY kanji! I stared at it in shock. I decided to wait at the last point of it for them to complete the pattern and find out who it is. I jotted a message for the guys and headed out side. I hopped on a nifty yellow motorcycle that they had gotten me as a present and headed to town. I got to the place and waited. I watched a stray dog wander by and a few pieces of paper whip around in front of me. I almost gave up when I heard a noise from inside. My senses became heightened and I felt the rush of my adrenaline kicking in. I silently transformed into my sub-armor and crept into the store. I searched around until I found movement. With the whisper of "Jin" I was invisible. I carefully crept up to the robber, making sure I made absolutely no noise at all. I got behind him and grabbed the gun in his right hand away from him. With a quick but clumsy movement he whipped around, eyes searching but not seeing. I smiled and snatched off his hat and tossed it around. He watched it in horror and screamed and ran away. I heard the peel of tires speeding off. I laughed a hearty laugh and relaxed. 

Just then, a bright light filled the store and I felt cans and bottles hitting me in the back. I yelped and jumped out the door. Anubis, red hair flying wildly about him, emerged from the store. "Hello sister, dear. You are returning with me to your _true_ master, the great Talpa!!!" he boomed, smirking at me. "The hell I am!" I shot back and cringed, pulling away. My back cried out in pain for the first time in a few days. He saw this and smirked. "I would think you would want to come back and be with your brother and sister, but I guess I will have to force you." he said sarcastically and advanced on me. I kept backing up until I hit a wall and couldn't anymore. I glared at him and shouted my transformation. "Armor of Lightning.... Tao Ai!!!" In an instant, I was armed. I leapt above him onto the balcony of an apartment nearby. From there onto a building's roof. I gracefully leapt from one roof to another and then down onto the street. He was right behind me. I used my lightning speed to dash back to the store and hopped onto my motorcycle, speeding to the Ronin's house. 

I burst through the door and ran into Rowen, struggling to finish dressing as he was running out the door. He muttered a few curse words and pushed me off of him. "Anubis is heading this way!" I shouted and received a series of groans and 'not again's. Rowen whipped around with wide eyes at what I just said, and morphed into his sub-armor. We dashed upstairs to where the others were still getting ready and they all called forth their sub-armors. Just as we were making our way downstairs, we heard Mia scream. We dashed to the porch where Anubis had Mia bound with his chains and the blade of the sickle to her neck. "I want her, not you guys!" he shouted and drew the blade closer to Mia. She yelped in fear and her eyes widened. I moved forward and set her loose, Anubis smiling the whole time. I proceeded to walk into the clearing, calling forth my weapon of choice, a single katana. He moved toward me and I spun around and glared into his eyes. "Sorry brother, but you won't have me without a fight!" I shot at him. He smirked and shot back, "Surely you jest, Amber. I am your brother. I know your weaknesses and how to keep you from your strengths." I leapt into the air, did two flips in the air, and came down on his shoulder with a powerful kick. Visibly stunned, his shoulder and his pride hurt, he stared in confusion. "Bet you have never seen that one from me before." I shot at him with a wide smile. Ryo stared in disbelief. "That was _my_ kick!" he said to himself. I moved away and called forth a few ninja death stars and threw them at Anubis. He was able to avoid all but one, which caught his left leg. He screamed in pain and glared at me. In a puff of smoke, he retreated back to his realm. I called away my armors and tiredly walked back to the house. The guys stared at me in disbelief. I walked to the couch and lay down and fell asleep.

I woke up when the guys came home from school. Rowen, tired and frustrated, had no where to sit, so I moved my legs for him to sit down and I put them in his lap. He warily smirked at me and then lay his head back against the back of the couch. My eyes wandered around the room. Most of the guys were studying and doing homework. Kento was playing on the Nintendo. My eyes rested on Cye, who was looking at me over his book. His eyes quickly darted back to his book and he shifter uncomfortably. I smiled and leaned back and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming sweet dreams. 


	4. Neverending Nightmares

"I am sorry, but we do not accept loose change

"I am sorry, but we do not accept loose change." said the woman. She was old and ancient looking and very ugly. She reminded me of a witch, with her wiry black and gray hair. "It is money, all the same! You are supposed to accept all forms of money." I answered smugly as Cye, once again, pushed the money across the counter. He was turning a light shade of red now and gave the woman a pleading look that said 'please don't get her mad!' "I am sorry, but I refuse to accept it." she shot back at me with an evil grin. There was something about her that just sent me off the edge. I concentrated extremely hard on keeping my temper at bay, but it was a fruitless attempt, for all of a sudden I felt it. My eyes flashed as electricity flooded through my body. My eyes turned yellow and the lights flickered. Cye and the woman looked up, startled by this. I quickly spun around to hide my eyes. I groped Cye's shirt for his sunglasses and quickly slipped them over my face to cover my glowing eyes. As I turned around, I noticed that the woman's smile had grown, but as she noticed me looking, she quickly transformed her face back to the pleasant old woman's face. "I am sorry. There is a store down the road there..." she pointed to an old dirt path to the side of the store. 

Cye and I walked out the doors and glanced down the old dirt path. It didn't look very driveable. We looked at each other and an unspoken decision was made. We were going to have to go into town. I was hoping we wouldn't have to enter the bustling, traffic-ridden city of Tokyo, but of course I would have to deal now. I just hoped my eyes would quit glowing by then and there were not any perverts out. I was really not in the mood to try and control my powers while they whistled and catcalled. We started for the car, my feet dragging the ground and my hands buried in my pockets. Cye knew I was disgusted with the idea of going to town. "It won't be so bad. We can go to your favorite store, or, um, maybe a movie or something. Kento can find some food SOMEWHERE while we are gone. That or he can resort to 'eating the couch' as Yulie says sometimes!" he said, breaking into a light grin in an attempt to cheer me up. "Hey, and maybe your eyes will quit glowing by then!" he added, his smile widening. I giggled and began to calm down. Usually when I calm down, my eyes stop glowing, but for some reason, they didn't. Cye planted a soft kiss on my cheek as we continued to the car. I felt an uneasiness in my stomach and my throat closed up. 

***something bad is fixing to happen I can feel it dreadful powers why do I feel this what is going to happen...*** 

My mind was flooded with these thoughts when I heard it. A high pitched whistling. "Duck" I yelled as I bent my body backwards, pulling him on top of me as I went down. It was a close one. When I hit the ground I looked up and watched as a single arrow passed overhead. I slowed time and watched as it changed shapes. Lightning bolt, arrow, lightning bolt, arrow. I marveled at this wit utmost curiosity. I sped up time again and looked back to see where the arrow had emitted from. I was extremely surprised at what I saw. There stood the old woman with an evil smile on her face. The same smile I saw earlier. She stood with her feet planted firmly and her arm straight out, hand outstretched, in the exact direction that the arrow had traveled. I watched as she morphed into a yellow creature that looked human. Her hair stood straight up in the shape of lightning bolts and her face was beautiful. She was slim and gorgeous with barely any coverings. Thoughts were racing through my mind. Creatures flashed through my mind. Creatures that I remembered from my over 500 years on this earth. Then a light went off in my head and I saw the creature with descriptions and playbacks. She was one of the 'children'. The electric one. "Oh no. This one is going to be a challenge" I muttered as I crawled out from under Cye. He groaned a "huh?" and got up as well. He looked confused, so I explained it to him. Although he was still a bit confused, he sort of halfway understood. We concentrated hard and a light encircled us. As it died down, we stood in our brilliantly colored sub-armors. We dodged a few more arrows and then made a dash to get near her. I distracted her as Cye leapt into the air and landed a kick to her right shoulder. She was not phased at all by this blow and with a swift motion she brushed him off like a rag doll straight into a tree. He looked like he was going to pass out, but fought it. While her attention was still on him, I made a pass at her and made contact with her left shoulder. Again it did not phase her and I also was thrown into a tree. I swiped at the blood running down from the fresh cut on my forehead. I glanced up and she was standing with her eyes closed in deep concentration. "Oh no" I said in a low voice. A ball of pure electricity formed above her, growing quickly. I made a helpless glance to Cye and he nodded. I could tell that I was not the only one that was scared. I made mental contact with him. 

~*I think we had better call forth our armors, NOW!*~ 

I felt his mental agreement and we called out our transformation words. "Tao Shin / Ai!" we both shouted in unison. (His armor's soul is 'shin'/trust. Mine is 'Ai'/love.) Bright light and cherry blossoms filled the clearing surrounding us both. Our armor materialized around us. I stepped out of the cherry blossoms with my yellow armor lighting the entire clearing. I glanced over to Cye as he also stepped out. He stepped up beside me and we were about to attack when the lightning child released her concentration on the sphere and the entire clearing and then some filled with intense electric power. Cye and I held onto each other, but I am not known for my strength. I lost my grip and flew backwards. I felt a sharp stab of pain as my back made contact with a boulder. I tried to get up, but I could not move. I lay there, losing consciousness when I heard Cye use his special attack. "Sup-ah Wave Smash-ah!" he shouted and his power overwhelmed the electricity and injured the child. He rushed to me and inspected the damage. He helped me to my feet and put my arm around his shoulder. As he turned to head back, the child stood and prepared to fire another arrow. Cye laid me down and tried to protect me. I heard a yelp of pain and saw Cye hit the ground. I looked at him and saw the arrow imbedded in his shoulder. I concentrated hard and saw that it had barely missed his heart. I was outraged. I stood, ignoring the cries of agony from my aching back and joints. I glared heatedly at the child, who now had a wide, evil smile on her face again. Attempting to muster up every ounce of energy, I called for one of my most powerful attack, adding along with it a bit of magic to strengthen it a bit. "Lightning Elimination Attack" I hoarsely shouted. My armor began to glow and I stretched my arms to the sky. A cloud formed and a powerful bolt of lightning emitted from it, smashing into my armor and powering it up to an astronomical level. I pooled it all and formed a heart-shaped sphere of energy near the crystal heart on my breastplate. When I felt it reach it's full potential, I stretched my arms up once again and began to twirl. I felt it reach an even stronger power when I added the magic to it. I pulled my arms down to a forty-five degree angle from my body and began to move them around in a dancing motion. When I was able to concentrate on my target fully to be able to insure no miss, I pulled my arms around like I was pushing something to her (see Sailor Mercury's Shine Aqua Illusion and Sailor Moon's Moon Crystal Heart attack) and let the energy go. A dull thud sounded as I made contact and electricity poured through the child and overloaded her with more than she was meant to handle. Exhausted, I crawled to a cherry blossom tree that was charred from the earlier blast from the child and leaned against it. I looked back and saw the child morph back to a human form as a thin ray of yellow light was emitted from her and went skyward. I knew the children possessed people, but I still couldn't believe my eyes. The woman was not the ugly hag from earlier, but a young woman in her thirties. She didn't stir. I regained some energy and called for my armor to leave me. I stood shakily in my sub-armor and stumbled over to Cye. He lay very still with his eyes shut and a pained expression locked on his face. I clutched the arrow and swiftly pulled it out. Cye shuddered, whimpering a bit, and again lay still. I used the energy I had just regained to heal him and slipped into unconsciousness. 

I awoke to a shudder. Earthquakes? No, there are no faults hear here. I opened one eye and studied the scene. I was in the car. I glanced up at Cye, who was concentrating on the road. I sat up and looked out the front window. My leg hit something and I looked down. Grocery bags. They were from that store we had been to where the woman… "No…It had to be a dream." I thought aloud, sleepily rubbing my eyes. Cye sensed my movements and pulled onto the shoulder. He turned around and stared me in the eyes. "Are you ok?" he asked worriedly. I could sense the tension and worry in his voice "Huh? Oh, yeah. I am ok. Why?" I asked. He touched my head where the cut… 

~*No. Stop. It was only a dream!*~ 

had been. It now had a bandage on it. "You took it pretty hard back there. I can't believe you used the last of your energy to heal me. You need to rest. We are almost home, and you ARE going to rest if I have to lock you in your room." He said and grinned. We reached the house and e made me wait until he got around to my side so he could help me out. He escorted me to my room and made sure I lay down and began to go to sleep before he left. I woke up to a wonderful smelling scent wafting around the room. It invaded my senses and forced me awake. I looked over and there, by my bed, was Cye. He had prepared me his specialty and brought it to me in bed! He smiled and sat it down on a table. Still smiling, he walked over to the bed and helped me sit up. He planted another kiss on my cheek in the same place the one the day before had been. He brought the tray to my bed. The sweet smell of his homemade waffles invaded my senses. **I bet Kento will be in here soon** I thought and giggled out loud. He glanced at me, confused, and I told him what I had thought. He also laughed. "You better eat quickly then," he said with a grin. 

Just then, a crashing sound startled us. We looked to the door where Kento had burst into the room. "WAFFLES!!!" he shouted, staring hungrily at the tray in my lap. He made a mad dash for my bed and Cye tackled him. He began tickling Kento, whose laughter shook the whole house. I scarfed down the delicious breakfast and signaled Cye that it was ok to let him up now. Kento sat up and immediately had a puppy-dog look on his face. "But….but…but….I WANTED SOME!!!" he said, tears welling up in his eyes. So Cye went downstairs and prepared another batch for the household. He came back up to my room with the rest of the guys following him. Mia walked up first and checked my injuries. She made them leave and helped me to the shower and left to do chores. I cleaned myself up, dressed, and helped myself downstairs. Ryo was in the hallway fixing his black hair. He was about to take Mia to town, but he didn't look too happy about it. He shot a surprised look up to me, which quickly turned to worry. He hurried up the stairs and met me half way. He helped me down to the living room, the whole time I was protesting, where the rest of the guys were. Kento was playing a video game with little Yulie, Rowen was watching them, Sage was reading a book, and Cye was staring at the painting above the television that had a beach scene in it. He quickly sensed my arrival and jumped up to steal me from Ryo. He half-carried me to the couch and sat me down. The rest of the guys muttered a hello and went back to what they were doing. Ryo cast a sideways glance towards me, a kind of wishing look in his eyes, and then left to join Mia in the suburban. In a roar of the engine, they were gone, and the house was quiet, save the beeps coming from the game. I settled in and stared at the video game. That didn't keep my interest for long so I grabbed a brush and ran it through my knee length, fiery red hair. I wished that Anubis, my twin brother, were still alive. I was not certain of what happened to him. My long red hair matched his, and they were almost the same lengths. My temper was the same as his…eyes…face…emotions…almost exactly matched. Oh how I wished to see his face…to confide in him. To___… 

My thoughts were interrupted by a joyous shout of victory from Kento. He finally beat Yulie at the video game. Kento stood up and did a dance around the room similar to the dance a football player does after a touchdown. Rowen put his hand over his mouth to try and stifle his laughter. Sage glanced over the top of his book, rolled his eyes, and went back to reading, hiding his small grin with the book. Cye was rolling on the floor in a hysterical laughter, and even I laughed a bit until I saw Yulie. He was inching toward the door. I made contact with his mind for a second, but something pushed me out. I got one feeling from it: EVIL…

I stood, concentrating my whole being on Yulie. Everyone stopped laughing to stare at me in confusion. I followed Yulie to and out the door. He spun around and glared at me, eyes bright red. ~~FIRE~~FIRE~~FIRE~~FIRE~~ I got this from his mind before it pushed me out again. He morphed into the fire child. His hair was flames and he was red, yellow and orange all over. His only covering was a loin-cloth-type garment. I backed away as he sent a flame in my direction. The guys stepped forward to face it. In unison they were transformed into their sub-armors and then called for their armors. 

Kento: "Armor of Hardrock…Tao Inochi!" 

Sage: "Armor of Halo…Tao Gi!" 

Cye: "Armor of Torrent…Tao Shin!" 

Rowen: "Armor of Strata…Tao Chi!" 

Cherry blossoms, bright light, then armor. Kento stepped forward with a mischievous grin. "It is about damn time I get to fight again! Yeeeee-ha!!!" he shouted as he ran into the flames and collided with the child. He used his strength to do damage to the child. He picked it up, twirled it over his head, and effortlessly chunked him into a pile of boulders. The child, visibly injured, tried to hide it by doing the same as the electric child. He formed a massive ball of fire above him and emitted it towards the four. Some of the flame blew towards me and I was burned. My arm stung from the burn and I instinctively ran to the water hose and ran cold water over the burn. It numbed but my rage did not. Even though I was still weak, I quietly uttered the words to call forth my armor, quiet enough for the guys to not be able to hear. 

"Armor of Lightning…Tao Ai…" 

I scampered into the forest and behind the child. "Well…here goes nothing…one…(sigh) two…THREE!" I shouted as I charged out towards the child. Startled, he turned around. I leapt up and used my attack, the normal one. "White lightning attack" I shouted and the clearing filled with lightning. My mind tells me that I should use a katana, so a single katana materializes in front of me and I slashed into the child. "You little pyromaniac! Take that!!!!" I screamed. It shuddered and passed out with a single strand of red flashing upward into the sky. It materialized back into a sleeping Yulie. After that, I remember very little. I do remember waking up in bed again. Cye was sitting beside me praying for something. Fuzzy glimpses of the other guys coming in and out of the room. I remember seeing Ryo a whole lot when I came to. Of course, they didn't know I came to because I was not able to move much. Everything was stuck in fast-forward. Then, all of a sudden, there was an abrupt halt. 

I sat up, breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. I surveyed the scene, cringing at the dizziness that hit. How long had I been out? It was dark, so I knew everyone was asleep. I stretched and yawned and stood up on wobbly legs. Slowly and quietly I padded across the floor and slipped on a robe and headed to the kitchen. "Wow…I am famished!" I thought to myself. I fumbled for the light switch and instead felt a sharp pain. A knife had been left out. As I searched again for the light switch, I made contact with a plant of some sort, or at least that was what I thought it was. I got frustrated and, muttering a "Humph!" I turned it on telekinetically and healed my cut and looked at the…plant? Then I screamed. A shrill, high-pitched scream that sent everyone scrambling and tumbling down the stairs. When they got to the door, they were surprised, although I don't know why. They should be used to this by now! I was being held by a vine and tied to a chair. Standing above me was a child. The forest child. Mia was no where to be found, so we assumed that it had invaded her body. We were all transported outside into the cold, misty night air. The guys quickly called upon their armors and me, not able to move, just stared helplessly at the scene. This one was to be easily defeated. One blast from Ryo and it had no chance. 

"Flare up now!" Ryo shouted and the plant withered and morphed back into Mia. Again the colored line flew upward. This one was green. (that is a no brainer!) I looked back to the boys. "Ahem…A little help here please!" Sage was closest so he cut me free. I leaned on him for support to get up while Cye hurried over. In a bright flash of light, they were back in their nightclothes. I cringed at the sight of Kento in boxers. He flushed a dark red color and stormed into the house. I sent him a telepathic apology that said I was only joking, and his storming turned into a dragging of feet. I smiled to myself and turned to lean on Cye…but he was not there! I cocked my head to the side and wondered where he had gone. Oh well. I shrugged it off and padded toward the house, grasping at whoever's arm I could reach when I felt like I was going to fall. 

When I got to the house, I called for Cye and got no response. I asked Kento and he said he didn't know where Cye was, but that he had better get in here and cook him a midnight snack! I rolled my eyes and continued my search for Cye. An hour went by and no sign of Cye. I concluded that he must be meditating and did not want to be disturbed or he would have answered and once again shrugged it off. I went upstairs and got in bed. For a while, my attempt at sleep was fruitless. All I could do was stare worriedly up at the ceiling until sheer exhaustion made me black out. 

I awoke, coughing and sputtering, not able to breathe. I couldn't move my arms or legs and my mouth was covered. I opened my eyes and saw that I was gagged and bound, being dragged along the ground by a momentarily unseen person. I recognized the path we were traveling down. We were heading towards Lake Toyama. I kicked and made a few muffled screams to show the person I was awake so maybe I could see who it was. Success was mine. He dropped the rope and turned toward me, eyes glowing. He slapped me hard, and I caught a glimpse of blue. His hand is blue! **Oh no…** I thought. **The water child** Wait…Cye's armor is torrent…so that is where he went! I searched his mind for some hint that Cye was in there somewhere and found nothing. This creature must be smart, or I would be able to breach the mind barrier. We were no where near the house so it was pointless to scream. He smiled and I knew he could read my thoughts. He went back to the rope. It was not long before we reached one of the tall cliffs surrounding Lake Toyama. He turned back to me with an evil grin. ----You think you can swim, all tied up like that?---- he sent to me, using Cye's voice pattern. All I could do was turn my face away from him. He laughed and picked me up. To the edge he went, and on the way he took the bandana off of my mouth. 

----Any last words, Ronin?---- "Yes," I said out loud. I peered up into the child's eyes, sighed, and said "Cye…If you can hear me, I love you." The thing screamed into my mind and threw me over. I tried to think positively about it, because I didn't want to die a madwoman. I thought of how good the air felt whooshing past, and how it was going to be, pretty much, a swift, painless death. Then I hit the water. It was freezing cold. I sank slowly, trying not to panic so I wouldn't loose air so quickly. I, for some reason, felt I was not going to die. I thought I heard a splash above, but it was probably a fish, or so I thought. Then I felt someone grab me and pull me up. It was the child. He pulled me to the shore. I stared in disbelief. Then a light went off inside him and his face transformed into the evil grin again. He couldn't move though. I tried again to enter its mind. Success! He had let his guard down. Cye and the child were having a psychological war. I retreated quickly. Working my wrists and feet up and down to try and free myself, I watched the creature cringe and smile and I hoped Cye would be all right. All of a sudden he lifted his face to the sky and screamed a god-awful banshee scream. A thin blue light came up and flew to the sky. 

I sighed with relief and looked at Cye. He stood there, looking into my eyes and smiling. He walked over and untied me and helped me up. When I was standing, I put my arms around him, concentrated, and muttered a magic word (Jin) and we were back up on top of the cliff. We stood there for a while, and then we made our way, in the dark, back to the house. He stayed in my room that night, sleeping on the loveseat near my bed. I watched him drift to sleep and then I tried to sleep again. I finally began to drift off, but Cye's movements snapped me out of it. I groggily glanced at the window. Bright sunlight was pouring through. I groaned and sat up, waiting to stand until the dizziness passed. I strolled over and planted a kiss on Cye's forehead and continued to the bathroom where I showered, groomed and dressed. After all that wonderful stuff, I was wide-awake and in a wonderful mood. I silently hurried down the stairs and startled everyone in the living room. I giggled and crept into the kitchen where Cye was cooking with Kento watching over his shoulder, drooling. Stepping around Kento, I planted another kiss on Cye's cheek and made my way to the cupboard for a glass. Glancing back, I noticed Kento making a horrid face and sticking out his tongue in disgust. I grinned, filling the glass with water and went back to Cye. "Feeling better?" he asked, not looking up from the food. "I should be the one asking you that, eh?" I answered. He frowned, thought it over for a minute, and mumbled that he was feeling perfect. Kento looked us over, and having no idea what we were talking about, wore a confused expression that didn't differ much from his normal blank expression. I pried him off of Cye's shoulder and dragged him into the living room and explained what I was talking about. I sat him down and hurried back to the kitchen. Cye was not there. 

I went back to the dining room and the food was there, but Cye was not. I heard the front door shut and hurried outside. He was walking down a forest path, so I followed, keeping my hand around my pendant, which held my power crystal. I caught up to him and stared into his face, which was staring down to the ground in sorrow. I asked him what was wrong and he didn't answer, so I fell behind and stopped. I gracefully leapt into a tree and climbed to the highest limb that I knew would hold my weight. Down the path I saw a clearing with a waterfall and a small body of water. There were flowers dotting the deep green grass. I hurried down the tree and using my speed and invisibility, beat him there. He walked into the clearing and toward the waterfall. Still invisible, I followed him to a cave beneath the waterfall. Deeper into the cave he went until it dead-ended. There he walked to the left and produced a key out of his pocket. He unlocked a small box and brought out an even smaller box and put it in his pocket. It was a ring...sized...box...

I materialized behind him and when he turned he was startled to see me. He stared at the ground with his hands buried deep in his pockets. I crept up to him and put my hand on his face. One of his hands shot out of his pocket and covered my hand. I smiled and took his hand and lead him out of the cave. In the clearing he stopped me and brought out the box. My breath caught in my throat and I felt lightheaded like this morning when I sat up in bed. He started to say something when something happened with the land surrounding the waterfall. It broke open and rocks fell around us. Water poured through the new cracks, forming smaller waterfalls. Cye put the box into his pocket and we called forth our sub-armors. Cye threw me down and covered me with his body. I could feel every boulder that hit him and heard his breath quicken as he strained to keep from crushing me. I flipped over and looked around him. There were no cracks in the pile covering us. I glanced into his eyes and could see his tremendous pain. I concentrated and the rocks dissolved above us. Cye fell onto me, breathing hard. I lay my hand on him and relieved him of his pain. Instead of taking the pain in, I formed a ball of energy and locked it away in my mind. I helped him up and we looked over to where the disturbance had been. We saw nothing. I looked closer and, blended in with the rock like a chameleon, I saw a form. Another child. The child of brute rock strength. I could tell it was Kento bye size and shape. If my memory served me correctly, he was the last. 

He flew into the air and landed, kneeling, driving his fist into the ground and creating an earthquake. The earth split and we fell into the hole. We grasped the ledge and held on, staring at the raging inferno beneath us. We laboriously climbed out on separate sides of the huge split. It was too wide to jump across, and every time Cye tried the fire would leap up and prevent him from it. I glanced around on his side and did not see the child, so that meant… I slowly turned around, really scared and nervous now, and glanced toward the child. He had a huge perverted smile on his face. He leapt at me and tackled me. "Where to start…God, I hate decisions…Hmmm…" he stroked my hair and face, staring at me with his evil eyes and that perverted smile. "Get…Off…Of…ME!!!" I shouted as my sub-armor began to glow. Some force within me threw him off and my armor appeared around me without my calling it. I called for the ball that I had locked away and threw it at him and then struck at him, and he fell back. I used my attack and the battle was over. A thin strip of orange flew to the sky and then all the colors appeared in front of us. They crystallized in front of me and formed a multicolored crystal. I concentrated on it and made it into a pendant. I reached for it and fastened it around my neck. The glowing stopped and it was just a beautiful crystal. I felt the energy of all five of the creatures flowing through me. 

I looked over at Kento, trying to figure out what happened. He headed back to the house and I leapt across the gap over to Cye. We both banished our sub-armors and his hand went to the pocket. He sat down and took his hands out and lay his head in them, deep in concentration. I sat down beside him, planted another kiss on his cheek, and lay my head on his shoulder. I know that guys like to feel appreciated and I really appreciated him too! He busted his butt trying to make me feel like a princess after all of that bad stuff happened. I wrapped my arm around him and I felt him relax. He looked at me for the first time all day. I saw a pained expression on his face. I could not read that reason. He took out the box and drew a bracelet from it. He slipped it around my wrist and said "Happy Birthday." Shocked, I stared at him. "How…" He smiled and said that Anubis told him in a dream. Then he told me that he would not be able to further our relationship because he found out that I was immortal and it would not work out well in the end. He stood and left, leaving me in tears. Alone again, and resenting ever becoming immortal, I walked home alone that day dragging my feet and leaving a trail from my lonely tears.


	5. Courage Regained

"Amber

"Amber?…Amber?…Hello-oooooo?" Ryo called, sweeping his hand in front of my blank, depressed face. He looked back to the guys and shrugged. Cye went upstairs, head down. I sighed and continued my blank stare. Yulie popped up in front of me and stared into my un-seeing eyes. "What is wrong with her Ryo?" he asked and waved his hands in front of my face. "I don't know Yulie. I don't know," he said worriedly. Sage sat down beside me and tried to enter my mind to find out. I was so depressed and tired that I was not able to keep him from it. He stood and whispered to Ryo what Cye had told me. He looked to the stairs where Cye had gone a moment before and then sympathetically to me. He sat down and looked at me with unsure eyes. I breathed heavily, fighting the tears, bottling my emotions. He stood and went to consult with Mia about the dreams they have been having. 

Later that day they formed a meeting in the living room. I listened as they said that they were going to separate and go find their inner spirits or something. They looked at me to see if, maybe, I would do the same. I continued to stare blankly, eyes teary now from not being able to contain myself anymore. They stood and said their quiet good-byes and all was quiet. For the first couple of days I mostly just sat and stared. I moved to the bathroom, shower and to lie down to sleep. Mia brought me food every now and then to try to get me to eat, but I wouldn't. 

Finally one day I heard something outside. Being the only one who could fight, I felt I should do something to protect Mia. I called my sub-armor and weakly made my way outside. There stood Ryo and Rowen, glancing worriedly at me and then down the road. I looked to the road and there came a figure that looked like the Ancient One. I made my way down to where the guys were, lost my balance, and fell. The guys helped me up and saw how skinny I had become. 

"Before we leave, we are going to force-feed you!" Ryo said, frowning. Rowen nodded in agreement and they both turned their attention to the figure. As it got closer, I saw long red hair coming from under the hat. "Anubis" I whispered, smiling. I walked up to him and hugged him. He smiled and returned the hug. "Sister, it is good to see you, but you have gotten way too thin." he said, keeping his face as serious as he could and looking at me worriedly. He turned his attention to Ryo and Rowen. "Your three friends are prisoners of Talpa right now. Beware of him and his assistants." he said grimly. "What?!?" Ryo and Rowen said in unison. They armed themselves and prepared to leave when they glanced at me again. "Mia!" Ryo shouted. She came out cautiously just in case it was something bad. She glanced up to Ryo and said "Whatcha need?" "Fix some food, please. We are going to force-feed this girl! If she is going to be of any use to us, she needs her strength!" he said, chuckling. 

Rowen helped me into the back of the car and sat beside me, awaiting the food. Ryo hopped in, handed Rowen the food, and started the car. Mia hopped into the driver's side and Yulie and Anubis got on White blaze. We all sped off to Tokyo. 

By the time we arrived at the newly made gates, Rowen had forced me to eat most of the food. My stomach rumbled and did not want to accept the food, but I hate throwing up so I forced it to stay down. We stepped out of the car and stared at the gates. My eyes focused on the character in the center. "He is so stupid. He doesn't think we know where this gate came from. He has to plaster his name all over the gates." I said with a bitter look. Anubis glanced at me and then concentrated and threw his staff. A portal appeared in front of us. We glanced at each other, nodded, and transformed into our armors. Anubis bid us farewell and we entered the portal. 

I awoke to a shock of a cold and wet feeling. I was in a lake of some kind. Water lilies surrounded me. I stood and looked around. I was alone. "Ryo? Rowen?" I shouted. I turned in a whole circle calling their names. All of a sudden, Talpa's castle appeared in front of me. I started towards it, still looking for the guys. The gate was open, so I guessed they were all ready inside. I stepped through the gate and found myself in a war scene. I dodged a few soldiers and searched for the guys. I could see them. Ryo was unconscious, lying across White Blaze's back and Rowen was fighting soldiers off. I could see that both were visibly injured. I searched around for a secret opening that I remembered. I found it and entered the castle. Spirits floated by in robes similar to the mages of King Arthur's time. I grabbed a robe and threw it on. I walked to the different cells, looking in them. I finally found the one where Kento, Cye and Sage would have been held. I picked the lock and entered the cell. I saw Rowen unconscious on the floor. I ran to him and shook him to awaken him. He opened an eye, shook his head, and sat up. I looked up and noticed three statues on a rock. "What are those? They look like Cye, Sage, and Kento's armors." I said glancing at Rowen's face for an answer. He nodded and pointed. I saw an arrow jutting from each armor also. I watched the arrows for a while and noticed that they were slowly beginning to glow brighter and brighter, so bright that pretty soon we were not able to see. We closed our eyes tight to try and shut out the light, but we saw it even through closed eyes. We felt the light begin to die down and we opened our eyes. 

Three figures emerged from the light, walking very majestically towards us. I hopped up and clapped my hands from the extreme amount of happiness that flooded my body when I saw who it was. "Guys! You are alive! I am so happy!" I said, hopping up and down. They chuckled and glanced around us. "How do we get out of here?" they asked. I looked around and quickly found that the door I had entered through had vanished "There is no way out!" I said. "So glad you came to join us Amber. Now I will have five pieces in my collection." Sekhmet boomed and emerged from the shadows. "I will have fun with you first!" he shouted and lunged at me. I leapt out of the way and onto the trio formation that was behind the rock the guys had been on when they were statues. "Bye!" he shouted as a hole appeared and I fell into it. 

I slid down a big, rocky tunnel and fell on someone. I saw a flash of red and recognized the voice. "Ryo?" I said, picking myself off of him. "Yep," he grunted. I sat for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened and where I was. Then, from the same tunnel I fell down, I heard screams. I looked up into the tunnel to see what it was. Just then, Kento crashed into me, knocking me to the ground. Sage, Cye, and Rowen fell on him. "Help!" I screamed. "They are CRUSHING ME!" Ryo helped them off of me and then helped me up. "Where are we?" Sage asked, still a little dazed. "I think it is a water pit. Ryo, how did you get down here?" I blurted out all at once. Rowen paced around, inspecting the room. "I was battling the soldiers when Dais came behind me and shoved me into that tunnel over there," he said, pointing to a tunnel that was on the other side of the room from the one we had come through. "Shhhh." Sage hissed. He stood motionless, listening. I could hear something that sounded familiar. "You said this was a water pit, right?" asked Sage worriedly. "Yes…" I trailed off. "Well…HERE COMES THE WATER!" he shouted. 

In an instant, water began pouring into the room and in less than a second it was to our knees. A whirl, looking like and about as strong as a tornado, formed in the center. We were being forced in circles by the water. I flailed and kicked to try and stay above the water. A hand grabbed me, but couldn't keep a grip and around I went again. The hand grabbed me again, and this time kept a grip. Rowen pulled me above the water. He was holding on to the bars on the ceiling. So were the others. "I am going down to see if I can get us out of here." Cye shouted and dove under. Not too long after that we felt a shudder and the water started draining. We let go and were pulled into another tunnel. When we came out we ran into this tree-like thing. It was not planted, but instead had its roots dangling in the air. Below it was a black, bottomless-looking pit. 

To keep from falling, we thrust our weapons into it and hung on. I called forth two daggers so I would be able to climb easier. Rowen and Cye were not able to thrust their weapons into the thing, so they fell. They were able to grab onto the roots and hang on. I looked down and all I could see was Cye. "Rowen? You all right?" I shouted. "Yeah" he shouted back. I started down the thing to give him and Cye each a pair of daggers when I heard a god-awful war cry followed by two more. Dais, Sekhmet, and Cale came from somewhere above the tree and landed on Kento, Sage, and Cye. They fell into the abyss. Sekhmet appeared behind me and said, "You don't think we will let you off the hook that easily, do you?" He grabbed me and threw me down. I screamed and screamed. I felt a hand grab me and hold me, still screaming. "Keep screaming. He will think you fell all the way," Rowen whispered. I did as he said and trailed it off. Sekhmet laughed and was gone. 

I grabbed onto Rowen's waist and pulled myself up to a root and took hold of the root. Using that, I did an ally-oop to the trunk and dug my daggers in again. I handed a pair down to Rowen and he did the same. We made our way laboriously up the tree, straining and sweating and crying out in pain as our muscles almost gave out. We reached a ceiling and moved to where the tree had made cracks in it. We hoisted ourselves through the cracks and stepped out onto the flag ground. We collapsed, exhausted from the climb. When I caught my breath and was able to relax, I moved to Rowen, who was carefully bending and massaging his arms. I took over and massaged for him. He sighed and leaned against the wall. I smiled and kissed his upper arm muscle. "There, does that feel better?" I asked. He smiled and pointed at his shoulders. I gave him an 'are you sure' look and massaged his shoulders. He gave another sigh and relaxed to rest. I planted a kiss on each shoulder. "There, I kissed it and made it better. How do you feel now?" I asked him with a smirk. He smiled and closed his eyes. "Well you sure are a man of few words!" I exclaimed and stretched, glancing back to the tree. 

I was studying how it continued up through the ceiling when Rowen tackled me. He pinned me down and started tickling me. I called 'uncle' when I could barely breath and he let up, but still held me pinned. I looked into his eyes, breathless. "What was that for?" I panted. He smiled and said, "I don't know, just because I can." I sneered and shouted "You little snob!" Before I would say more he whipped his hand over my mouth and said 'shhh'. I listened for a minute and heard nothing. He grinned and let me go. "That is the last time I kiss your boo-boos to make you feel better" I smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "Are you still mad at Cye?" he asked. I giggled uncomfortably. "That is the most you have said today." I said, avoiding the question and he could tell. He put his hand under my chin and raised my head up so I was looking him in the eyes. "Are you?" he asked. "Yes. And I am also mad at myself for being mad at him. He was right and I just cant take the truth," I said and turned my head away. I felt the tears well up and run down my face. I hunched my back and balled up and cried. For the first time in a long time I cried. Loud, wracking sobs. 

Rowen put one arm around me and with the other hand he lifted my face up to his again. I stared, still teary, into his deep blue eyes and felt a knot in my throat. He smiled knowingly. "It is ok," he whispered. "I know how you feel. I had a girlfriend when I was younger. During the relationship, my grades started dropping. I panicked and decided to pour everything into school. I didn't have the time for her anymore, my reputation fell and I was called a nerd and being picked on. My girlfriend left me for a more popular person and it hurt. Don't cry, please." He soothed. My crying let up. We locked eyes and I felt like I did with Cye, only stronger. Our faces drew closer and we kissed. My heart skipped a few beats. When we moved away, he was wide eyed. "Wow," he said, still wide eyed. I smiled. "I should take a picture of you. You are so cute, all wide-eyed like that." I said, grinning. He blushed and grinned. "I have never…um…" he said, closing his eyes. He put his hand to his head and messed with his hair. I moved up and planted a kiss on his forehead, below his headband. He opened his eyes and looked into mine. I hugged him and said "thank you" over and over. "You helped me so much. I don't feel depressed anymore." 

I stood and pulled him to his feet. We surveyed the scene and found that there was a door. Rowen stooped down and picked up his helmet and put it on. I instinctively brushed the dirt off of my backside. We moved to the door, moving with reluctance. I muttered "Ai" and some robes appeared around us. I muttered "Jin" to the door and the lock turned and the door opened. Rowen looked at me in confusion. "When I was working for Talpa, the elders, spirits, and even some of the prisoners taught me magic. I love to use it." I said, grinning. He nodded. "What do those words mean?" he asked. I looked at him in surprise. "You don't know Ryo's soul? Virtue? JIN! It means virtue. All good things come through virtue. 'Ai' is my soul, love." I smiled and led him through the door. We were in a part that I strongly recognized. It was very near my chamber room. I pulled him to it and we ducked inside just as two patrol soldiers walked by. I muttered 'Jin…Ai…Jin…' and repeated it for a while. Then the words of the ancients. A yellow field appeared around the room preventing any entrance into the room. 

I hopped onto my bed and stretched out. I grinned even more and patted the bed beside me. He sat down, surprised at the softness of the bed. Our relaxation was short lived, because the whole room began to shake. The force field around my room shattered. I cringed as a sliver of glass flew past my face, leaving a thin red trail on my cheek. My eye caught a flash of blue and I saw what the goal of this intrusion was. "You will not have him!!!" I shouted, leaping into the air and grasping for Rowen's foot as they tried to take him. A force knocked me back onto my bed and held me there. "Fancy meeting you here, beautiful woman." A deep, sinister voice said. I glanced over, laboriously to see where he was. Sekhmet entered the room in some civvies for once instead of his sub-armor or armor. He strolled over to the bed where I was still being held down. "Tsk tsk. We really should do something about that dirty armor." He cackled, snapping his fingers. My armor vanished and I was in my baby-tee and short shorts. I cringed as he lay a hand on my bare knee, not liking the feeling of his cold hands. He stared me in the eyes, grinning madly as he slid the hand up further. I flinched and tried my hardest to kick, or do something to prevent what he was doing. "Sekhmet you snake. Leave me alone, now!" I spat through clenched teeth. He shook his head and continued upward. He positioned himself between my legs and removed his shirt. Moving closer, he leaned over me and began kissing my stomach, working his way up. I began to unknowingly pool my power as I watched him do this…this…horrible act to me! Yuck! 

I finally had enough power to use and I called on my attack, even though I was not in armor. "White lightning attack!" I shouted. He was knocked back against the wall and I was set free. I called straight for my armor instead of calling my sub-armor first and bolted out the door. I ran and ran and ran and ran… and then I ran some more! I felt dirty from what he had done to me and I wanted to run until it was all gone. Instead, I found a small pool of water and hopped into it. I lay there, soaking for the moment, trying to calm down and sense where the guys were. They were near. I hopped up and ran to where they were. I was shocked at what I saw. There stood nine sarcophaguses in a circle. Eight all ready had bodies in them. I shuddered and moved around to each. I stopped at Rowen's. "I am sorry Rowen. Please forgive me." I whispered. I slowly walked to the center of the circle and sat down. I began to chant until I felt the Ronins' powers return. "Go get him, guys." I said. The coffins exploded. A piece of one hit me and I blacked out. When I awoke, I saw the Ronins beneath me on the ground and I was in the air. Rowen jumped up and tried to grab me, but he was thrown down. I looked over and saw Sekhmet's evil face grinning at me. I struggled to get out of his grasp, but my efforts were futile. With my last breath before entering the dark, decayed-looking portal I shouted a "Noooooooooooooooooo!" that was perfectly in unison with Rowen's. 

When I emerged from the darkness I was in shackles and Sekhmet was right in front of me. "You have two options, Amber of Lightning. You can marry me and we can take over earth together or you can stay in this rank dungeon for the rest of your life." He cackled. I looked up at him with every ounce of hatred I could muster. "I would rather die in this dungeon than become united with the lowest of the low. What kind of whore do you take me for, you evil snake?!? When I escape, I will make sure you are beheaded, so you shall never haunt anyone ever again." I spat at him. I felt the sharp sting of a familiar cat-'o-nine tails before I blacked out again, for the fifty-millionth time.


	6. Freedom's Prices

Disclaimer: I borrowed some characters from a site I sometimes RP on, but at the moment they are experiencing difficulties with finding a good message board. I play Samantha Tarson...total opposite of me. I am 5'10 with red hair and my character on there is 5' with black hair...after appearances, most of her is my personification though. members.tripod.com/roninholt is where you can find it. Also, I shall warn you, this chapter is VERY VERY VERY LONG!!! It says down at the bottom that it is 36 pages long, and I dont feel like fixing gramatical errors on this one, so figure it out on yer own, dad'gummit!!! If a Texan chick like me can make sense out of some of the stuff I read on ff.net, then you can make sense of this...mostly..

NNF: Just get on with the story all ready!!!

FINE!!! HERE GOES NUFIN'!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Twenty five years have gone by. Each of the Ronins have married and had children, who have taken over the armors at the age of 18. Cye married and had Rune. Shortly after Rune's fifth birthday, Cye movd in with Kento and Myra. Kento had married a woman named Elizabeth and they had Myra. Not a year after Cye moved in, due to sickness, Elizabeth dies and leaves Kento a quiet, very different man. Rune and Myra grow to have a very strong friendship. Rune and Cye visit Cye's wife every summer, but they do not stay because she is a drunk, and has a horrible temper. Sage married and had Aric and Bram. Aric was paralyzed from a motorcycle accident. Rowen married and had Evan. Ryo married and had Kyle. Aric, Evan, and Kyle were racing their motorcycles for a farewell race and a drunk driver pulled in front of them. Kyle was the only one who had time to throw the bike on its side and avoid collision. Evan hit the car and flew over it, only recieving a broken arm, broken leg, and bruises and scratches. Aric was thrown into the windshield. He was in a body cast for a long time and emerged from it paralyzed. They returned to Japan to fulfil the oath and hand over the armors to the children. With the armor, Aric can walk and do everything that any normal person can, but he has to be near his wheelchair when he calls it away. They have been battling Sekmet, who has taken over for Talpa.

"Evan, catch!" Rowen shouted to the unsuspecting Evan. Of course, with reflexes greater than those of his father, he leapt up and caught the frisbee. "Care for a game?" Rowen asked, smiling. Evan threw it back and thus began the game. Off to the side, Myra and Rune sat, watching and chatting. Inside, Aric was studying and Kyle was watching the news. The rest of the adults were talking in the kitchen. It was a peaceful day at the lovely home in the middle of the woods. I looked on in envy. I could have been part of that. Instead I had to live with evil. Time to change that. I stepped out into the clearing, pulling the big hat down over my eyes to shield them from the sun and shifting my scepter in my hand, and moved toward them. Evan caught the first glympse of me and shouted for everyone to come outside. Rowen whipped around to see who it was. He looked alarmed. He didnt recognize the clothes. The household gathered on the porch to stare. I walked with a slight limp from the recent injury from Sekmet. I still refused to marry him and he slashed my leg. I escaped with some soldiers, like a coward, but oh well. I am alive. I continued walking toward the Ronins and Ryo walked toward me. "Who are you?" he asked, suspiciously. "I am surprised you didnt recognize my red hair, Ryo" I said with my melancholy voice. My voice had changed considerably to a low, melancholy, depressed-sounding tone. He stopped, surprised. "Why are you wearing those clothes?" he asked. "I am hiding like a coward. This is what I wore during training in Talpa's castle so many years ago" I answered. "Where have you been?" he asked softly. "Sekmet had me captured, shackled, malnourished, beat, and almost any other torture you can think of. This is my most recent scar." I said and pulled the skirt of the robe up to show him my calf. The slash ran all the way up my left leg, but I was not going to show him that much. He winced and said "Come in" and led me to the house. "Mia, could you doctor her leg please?" he asked her. She did. I walked into the living room and glanced at the people. They stared at me questioningly. "You all have beautiful children," I whispered. I pulled the hat off and they gasped when they saw my face. "Amber?" they all said, disbelieving. Rowen's eyes teared up and he fled the room, his wife following behind. I watched him go and hung my head and sat down on the floor, being careful of my leg. The only feature about my face that had changed was that I now had a scar on my left cheek and a black eye from that last bout, and that I had fixed my hair differently. "I am sorry, but I at least wanted to see you guys one more time," I whispered. Kento moved toward me and picked me up and hugged me. "I missed not having you to slam against the wall when I was frustrated." he said and smiled. For the first time in over twenty years, I got teary eyed and smiled and laughed. I hugged him and then Sage, Ryo, and even Cye. I was then introduced to the boys. Evan eyed me suspiciously, having seen his dad run out of the room. Instead of greeting me, he got up and left to go find his dad. I sat back down on the floor and told them what happened those twenty six years. What I didnt know was that Rowen was just outside the room, listening.

After I finished my story I looked up at the people in the room who were staring at me in astonishment. I stood, with the aid of a nearby table, and excused myself from the room to go find Rowen and apologize. I ran into him, literaly, just as I walked out of the living room. "I need to talk to you." he whispered quietly and pulled me out to the porch. When we sat down, I said that I was sorry. He wouldnt let me say more. "I heard your story. I am sorry that I was not able to help you." he said, sadly. "You need to find you someone else now though. I am too old for you. I am sorry," He stood and dashed back inside. I sat and stared at the door, then at the clearing and thought. Regular, mourning-type thoughts. I heard the door open and a wheelchair roll out the door and the door shut. "Hello Aric." I said, softly. "Are you ok?" he asked carefully. "Kind of," I answered. I turned to him. He smiled and offered me his hand. I grabbed it and hoisted myself up. "Thanks," I whispered. He nodded and opened the door for me. I smiled and went in and held it for him. I got behind him and pushed him to the living room. Sage smiled and winked to him and he blushed and turned his face away. I smiled and put the brakes on for him. He thanked me and I took my place on the floor. I stydied everyone in the room as they spoke to each other. I muttered "Jin" and I was in my normal clothes from before that I used to wear around the house. The teenage boys' eyes widened. Except for the scar on my face and the bandage on my leg, I was still a beautiful, 18-year-old-looking woman. I never thought I was beautiful, though. Aric blushed and glanced to his father, who looked at me and whistled. "I forgot how beautiful you were," he said with a smile. "But of course, we are too old to persue you now, although our sons are not though." he guestured to the teenagers. They blushed and looked away. I smiled and shook my head. "I am going back to school first." Mia whispered to Ryo who nodded. "Would you like to stay with us? You can stay in the room with the teens. Myra will be in there so you won't be the only girl." She explained. I thought for a moment and decided to take them up on it. I set up a bed in between Kyle's and Aric's and then helped Aric into his bed. He thanked me and lay back and closed his eyes. I lay down and did the same. "This is the first time in twenty six years that I will be sleeping laying down," I blurted out, and blushed. Aric chuckled and sighed and relaxed. I fell asleep and had a good night's sleep. 

The next morning I got dressed and went to school with the teenagers. I went and enrolled and everything. My first class was Pre-Cal, and it was exactly where I had left off. I whizzed through it and met some people. One girl, who had her hair like I had mine at the time, kind of, was visibly having trouble with the class. Her hair was blonde and her personality was the perfect example of a blonde's. She whined every five minutes. Myra was in there and she was sitting by herself. I moved to a seat beside her and asked her why she was sitting alone. "I am not a preppy, make-up obsessed, cute-looking girl like they are. I dont fit in." she said. "Girl, you are beautiful, and you have one thing that most of them dont have, but want: a boyfriend!" I said to her, picking up her spirits. "You just be yourself." I talked to her the rest of the class. The bell rang and i scurried to find my next class. I finally found it and bearly made it in before the late bell rang. I saw Rune and Aric in there. History. The teacher, a young woman in her twenties, introduced me to the class. The boys stared at me and her wide-eyed and the girls rolled their eyes. I sat beside Aric and opened my book to study. I studied while she spoke. The class went by quickly and I was off to find my next class, Chemistry. Evan was in there. He glared as I walked in and I made a note to sit far away from him. Chemistry was ok. Next was lunch. I picked out healty food consisting of a salad, water, and an apple. I walked around the cafeteria and spotted Aric. I walked toward his table. A girl came up and asked if she could sit. He looked over his book and said something about he didnt want anyone to sit with him and she left. I walked up and asked if I could sit with him. He glanced to the girl and said "sure". I sat down and also glanced at the girl. She glared at me with hatred. My eyes widened and I decided to bring my attention to my food. I scarfed it and brought out my history book to study some more. "You sure are interested in that history book," Aric said over his book. "I have been in captivity for twenty six years," I said, not looking up. I heard something over all of the noise that sounded like a 'whoosh'. Aric pushed himself out of his chair and onto the table and caught a knife that was flying toward my head. I looked, wide-eyed and scared, to the knife and to the girl. She smiled an evil smile at me. I pulled Aric off of the table by his under-arms and sat him back in his wheelchair, glaring at the girl. "Do you want to go outside?" he asked. I said "sure", got my things together, threw the backpack over my shoulder, and wheeled Aric outside. I stopped at a cherry blossom tree that was kind of away from the school so I would see the girl if she came out. I put his brakes on, picked him up, and sat him against the tree. I sat down by him and pulled out the history book. He read his book, looking up at me and at the school every now-and-then. The bell rang and I helped him back in his chair and wheeled him to the school. We parted to go to our respective classes. I had music class. In there she introduced me and put me near the front so I could hear. The song was a wonderful piece that I remembered from my days in the castle when I was working for Talpa and all was chaotic. Flashbacks and bad memories came in a rush to me. I grabbed my head and passed out. 

I woke up and four of the teenagers were in a room with me. "I think she is ok," Myra said to the nurse. I sat up, dazed. "Where am I?" I asked. Aric moved to me and said softly "You are at school. You were in Music class and you passed out. What happened? I had just seen you." I looked at him in confusion and said, "I....dont know. I think the song we were singing brought back some bad memories or something." He moved up beside the cot and put his hand on my head, then on my hand. "Your temperature is back to normal. You will be ok," he said cheerily. I looked around me. The nurse's office was a big room with health posters plastered all over the walls. I looked at the four teenagers looking at me worriedly. I stood, shakily, and walked around to get over the dizziness. I suddenly felt old, like my many years were catching up to me. I asked the nurse if I could be excused to go home and she said that it was ok. I went to get my work from my classes, Aric showing me around. He decided he would go home with me also. As soon as I stepped out of the van, I had another rush and passed out. He was able to get himself into his chair, wheel around, and pick me up into his lap. He wheeled me and him up the ramp and into the house. The guys were surprised to see us home early, but even more surprised to see me passed out in Aric's lap. Kento picked me up out of his lap and brought me upstairs and to my bed. Sage helped Aric up and he wheeled himself to my bedside and stayed there. He refused to leave. When I finally came out of it, he had fallen asleep in his chair. I didnt want to wake him, so I lay there. He sensed my change in breathing and this woke him up. He smiled at me and touched my head. "Fever is gone again." he announced. I smiled and grabbed his hand. He held it for a few seconds and then lifted it to his face and kissed the back of my hand. I watched, transfixed by this small show of affection. I finally decided to say what I was plotting out loud. I had been thinking about this for a while, but never mentioned anything about it. "I am going to visit my home of this incarnation in America. Would you like to join me?" I asked. He nodded and said he would like to. I shouted for Sage to come in the room and asked his permission. "Sure," he said. He smiled and winked at Aric. Aric blushed and turned away. I gathered a couple of pairs of my clothes up and put them in a small overnight bag. I then helped Aric do the same. We went downstairs and I went outside to put the bags in the compartment under the motorcycle seat. We said farewell to everyone and I wheeled him to the motorcycle. "How are we going to pull this one off?" he asked, looking in confusion at the motorcycle. I picked him up and sat him back against the two-seater seat and made sure he was comfortable. I whispered "Jin" and the wheelchair shrank to pocket-sized. I put it in a smaller compartment in the handlebars. "Ready?" I asked. He nodded. I carefully climbed on in front of him and told him to lean against the back-bar, put his hands tightly around my waist, and to put the helmet on. I whispered "Shin" and a portal appeared in front of us. I revved up the motorcycle and drove into it. We came out of it ant the Interstate 10 intersection. I drove down the long and winding Highway 583 and stopped at the intersection, trying to remember where to go. I went straight and turned right on belton and then left into the Harvest subdivision. I found my house and, after all these years, nothing had changed. I pulled up to the small walkway in front of the house and stepped over the motorcycle and got out Aric's wheelchair. I made it regular size again and sat him in it, took off his helmet and mine, and hung them over the back-bar. I took a deep breath and wheeled him up to the door and rang the bell. My mom answered the door and threw up her arms and screamed, "Amber is home!" I broke into laughter and pushed Aric into the house. My mom kissed my cheek and hugged me so tight that she picked me up off of the floor. Aric laughed and recieved a pat on the back from my dad. I introduced Aric and wheeled him near the couch and sat down. They asked about the wheelchair, and he told them. He then hung his head and stayed quiet. I looked at him worriedly and said, "Excuse us. He needs some fresh air," and wheeled him quickly outside. I looked at him and whispered, "Are you ok?" He didnt say anything. I begged for him to answer me but he didnt. I stroked his hair and begged some more. I said "Please dont be sad," over and over. He never changed expressions. I looked at him for a minute and, exhausted, with nothing elst to do that I haven't done all ready, I kissed him. When I pulled away, he looked at me wide-eyed. I turned red and sat down on the bench next to his chair. I mumbled an "Oh no," and put my head in my hands. He asked me what was wrong and I said "Well. I dont know what to do. Every time I fall in love it ends in a tragedy." His eyes got wider. "You are in love with me?" he asked. I nodded and sulked more. He picked my face up by the chin and kissed me softly. My eyes teared up and I returned the kiss. "Aww....how sweet!" a voice boomed, startling us. I looked up, wide-eyed, at a short, brunette woman. "Midget?" I asked. "Yep! It is me! I still aint any taller!" she beamed. "How?" I asked. "Your mom called me and told me you were here. You havent aged at all! What are you, immortal or something?" she asked. "Unfortunately, yes," I said sadly. "I can become mortal if I want, though." She kicked the ground, "Well, I gotta go. I told my husband that I wouldn't be very long. He is taking me to the movies tonight. Talk to ya later!" she said and hopped into her yellow '69 beetle and drove off. I leaned my head on Aric's shoulder and sighed. He smiled and grabbed a pigtail to play with. "My parents!" I exclaimed and hopped up. I wheeled him in and apologized. I told them that we could only stay for a day or two because of the commotion. I prepared myself for a shower. I finished my shower and Aric said he needed a shower also."I, um, need help though," he said nervously. I hesitantly volunteered to help him. I helped him undress, put him in the bath tub of warm water (keeping my eyes on the wall) and helped him out and to get dressed. The whole time he and I were blushing. I wheeled him to my brother's room where we were going to stay. I put him in the bottom bunk and I sat beside him. He held my hand and looked deeply into my eyes. "Although Mishima, the girl that was angry at you for sitting with me, had a crush on me, I never cared for any other girl. Before the accident I was like my father, flirting with everyone. I enjoyed the attention, but I didnt care for them. I care for you though. Since you came to our house I have. I felt a connection to you, at first, because I felt your pain was as strong as or stronger than mine. It grew into...love. I......love you for your personality and your caring. I love you for your gentleness and willingness to help, even if you feel strange or embarassed or threatened doing it. "He finished, surprised at how much he said. I smiled, blushing from the acclaim. He got over his embarassment and pulled my arm untill my face fell on his chest. I giggled and relaxed. He pulled my face up to his and kissed me more deeply than before. I returned the kiss. A burning was growing in my chest. I carressed his hair and face. This one was more than the others. I wished to every god that it did not end. We finally moved apart and I climbed to the top bunk. I said good night and drifted off.

I awoke to a jolt of the bed. I peered over the railing and saw Aric clinging to the bar that leads up to my bunk. I watched him let go, take a step, and grab for it again. I watched him for a while, until he gave up and took to steps and dropped himself into his chair. "The doctor lied to you," I said, quietly. He looked up, startled, and muttered a "huh?" I climbed down, not caring that i didnt have my robe on and he could see my shorts-pajamas. "If you were truly paralyzed, you wouldnt even be able to stand. With physical therapy you will be able to walk again. If you want, I will help," I said. He looked at me seriously and asked me if I was joking. I said no and I helped him stand. In thirty minutes, with a few breaks, he was able to take ten shaky steps at a time. He was so proud of those steps. The rest of the day he wanted to work on it so he could surprise his dad and the guys. The ten steps grew to fifteen, then twenty, then more and more. He could walk almost normally. Slow, but almost normally. We decided that we had stayed away for a little too long and that we needed to get back. We got our things together, bid my parents farewell, and we climbed onto the motorcycle, Aric getting on by himself this time. I opened the portal and drove through, waving to my parents. We came out right where we entered the portal, in front of the house. We decided to really surprise them. I helped him up the stairs and let him open the door and walk in. Everyone was in the living room talking loudly. I walked in and said hello to everyone. Sage got up and asked why Aric wasnt with me. "He is," I said with a smile. Sage looked around in confusion and asked, "Well....Where is he?" Aric stepped through the door and around me into the room. "Right here," he said, beaming. The whole room full of people gasped and gaped and muttered "How?" over and over. Sage stared, wide eyed. I stepped forward. "The doctors lied. He was not paralyzed. He just had extensive damage to the lower and middle back. I worked with him while we were gone, because he wanted me to, and he can walk pretty well on his own now," I said, my smile widening. Sage moved up to Aric and gave him a big hug. Aric blushed and smiled when his dad finally moved away. "So, are you going to flirt with all the girls now that you can walk again?" Sage asked with a big smile and wink. Aric shook his head and put his arm around me. "Why do I need to flirt when I have the perfect one right here," he said with a smile and planted a kiss on my forehead. I blushed. Rowen smiled and nodded to me. I had a horrible feeling of dread though. I heard something outside and I jumped. Sage and Aric heard it also and became alert. The Halo armor is one of hightened senses. The others looked at us with confused expressions as we moved to the door and out the door. White Blaze's offspring, Streak and Midnight, were growling at a figure emerging from the woods. It was Sekmet. "Aric of the Halo armor, You have attempted to steal my bride-to-be from my clutches. You will pay for..." he tried to say. I was so pissed off that I stepped forward, with no armor on, and walked all the way up to him and shouted in his face. "Bride-to-be?!?! Who the hell do you think you are? I would never in an eternity marry a snake like you!" He slashed at me and I expertly leapt into the air and transformed into my yellow and white sub-armor. The teens had never seen me in armor and they were surprised. Kento smiled and shouted, "She is back! She has her attitude back!" I smiled an evil smile and Sekmet lunged at me. "Bitch! Come back here and face me or I will kill your little crippled boyfriend over there and come after you!" he shouted angrily. I leapt into the air and shouted, "So...You want to see what this bitch can do?!?! Armor of lightning...Dao Shiname!!!" I emerged from the cherry blossoms in my yellow armor. I smiled and landed a kick to his chest. He fell back and flipped back up onto his feet. I concentrated, found his weak spot, and screamed my attack. "White lightning slash" and called forth a dagger. It transformed into a lightning bolt when I threw it at Sekmet. He dodged it somehow and tackled me. I kicked and screamed. Aric ran toward us, transforming into his armor as he ran. Sekmet smiled and retreated back to his realm, taking me with him. "Noooo!" Aric and I shouted in unison. I disappeared into the blackness and found myself in shackels when I came out of it. I hung my head and tried not to cry, because to cry is to show weakness. I couldnt hold back though, and I cried. 

A couple of days went by and, bored, I began to swing back and forth by my shackels for entertainment. Sekmet watched and smiled. "You will be mine. There is only so many times that you can break a person's spirit and I feel that your number is up," he said arrogantly. I glared at him and said, visibly pissed off at this remark, that Aric would come for me. He smiled and said something about that is exactly what he wanted, and then just watched me, entranced, for a while longer. He heard something and dissappeared. He came back not thirty minutes later, smiling. "Guess what? I have your little female friend, Myra of the Hardrock armor now. You two can enjoy each other's company for the rest of her life since you are immortal and she is not. You will have the pleasure of watching her wither away and die if you do not marry me." He chained her up beside me. I strained against my chains, calling him every foul word in every language that I knew, and kicking at him with my free legs. "I have just decided that you have too much freedom of movement, and I do not appreciate you kicking me or kicking at me. I shall see what I can do about that," he said. He grabbed a bow nearby and with two swift and practiced movements he broke both of my legs. I screamed a high-pitched scream of pain as the feeling crawled up my legs and into my abdomen. I fell limp, causing more pain to my wrists and arms. I cried and cried. Sekmet's face got this puppy-dog look and he said really fake-sympatheticaly, "Aww, did that hurt?" His face then contorted into an evil smile and I could see that he got pleasure from my pain. Myra reached over and was able to pat my head. "Please dont cry," she soothed. Pain seared up my legs and took over my entire body. I quit crying and hung there, limp. I spoke nothing. Sekmet seemed alarmed again and left. I heard Myra whisper to me but could not make out words. I dwindled into black unconsiousness. 

I remained unconscious for what seemed like forever. I woke up in my bed at the guys' house. Aric was at my bedside, asleep, with his head on the edge of my bed. I felt clean, so I guessed that someone had given me a bath. I lifted the covers and I saw that I had casts on my legs. I got mad and threw the covers down back over my legs and crossed my arms. This movement caused Aric to awaken, fully alert. "I am sorry," I apologized. He waved it off and said that he shouldnt have been asleep anyway. He moved up and kissed me and stood to stretch. "Do you want to go downstairs?" he asked me. I asked how and he pointed to his wheelchair. I smiled and said sure, to get some clothes out for me to change into. I had him turn around and I quickly dressed. We went downstairs, him being real careful not to jostle me too much. Everyone was so surprised to see that the tables were turned and that Aric was pushing me instead of me pushing him in the chair. I laughed and looked around. Myra had a bandage over her head and Rune was caressing her hair. Evan looked at me with respect for once, Kyle with admiration. The guys smiled at me like they always did. I asked if I could please go outside to the porch, and Aric pushed me out. I breathed in the cool air. "You know, we have school tomorrow and people are going to freak out and ask questions that we dont want to answer," I said dismally. "And I feel that Sekmet still has some hold over me, like he is standing behind me instead of you. It is weird." Aric bent down and kissed me on the cheek. "Dont worry. Everything will be ok." I smiled and watched the sun set, and fell asleep again. (This is getting predictable, wouldnt you say? I sleep entirely too much, but then again, I need it!!!)

The next morning, when I woke up, Mia and Myra helped me shower and get into my school uniform and into the van. Mia dropped us off and promised to pick us all up after school and wished us a good day. I half smiled and tested the wheelchair. It was good arm excercise, but hard work since I had never done that before. After my first class, Aric met me, huffing and puffing, in the hallway. "This is hard," I said with a smile. He smiled back and wheeled me to my next class. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and thanked him. He also wheeled me to chemistry and to lunch and all other classes that day. His fan club, surprised at the change of him walking and me being in the chair, glared at me with jealousy, but I didnt care. In P.E., I got to watch them do my favorite sport, swimming. The girl that threw the knife was glaring at me and smiling. I wheeled myself to the office and asked if I could go ahead to my next class since I couldnt swimm and they gave me permission. I passed Evan in the hallway. He was sitting just outside a classroom with his head down. I stopped and put the brakes on. "What's the matter, Evan?" I asked quietly. He looked up at me and he said that he had gotten mad at the teacher because they were disagreeing on something and she sent him out to sit in the hallway. I reached over and ruffled his hair. "You look so much like your father. I bet you are as smart as or smarter than him too," I said softly. He smiled. "I do well on tests, but not on daily because I dont do my homework." I smiled and said that I use to be the same way. I told him that I had better get to the classroom. He hopped up, peeked in the door way, and when he decided that the teacher was not looking, he took off the brakes and sped me down the hall to my class. I had a hard time keeping my laughter down to a giggle, but I some how managed. He ruffled my hair and said to take care and rushed back to sit outside his class room door. I smiled, smoothed my hair and clothes, and wheeled myself into the art room. The fourty-year-old woman greeted me enthusiastically and bid me to work. I moved to a desk and produced a book from my backpack entitled 'Landscape Photographs'. I settled on one of a farm with a tree with a tree house off to the side and a pen of animals. It reminded me of Anahuac and my friends. I quickly started to work and had it sketched by the time the bell rang to switch classes. I moved to the place where I was to sit during my actual class period just as the person who occupied the space that I was sitting in a moment before arrived to fill it. When class started I set to work on painting it. It turned out very well when I finished it. I set it out to dry and wheeled myself around the room to see what the others were doing. When the bell rang, I wheeled over to where I sat the painting, grabbed it, asked the teacher to grade it real quick, and sped to my next class as fast as I could. By the end of the day, my arms were sore. Aric took over and pushed me to the van. I lay down with my head in his lap and stared out at the trees that were quickly moving by. He played with my braid and also stared out the window. The trees became a green blur as I began to drift off into sleep. The car stopped suddenly, throwing me into the floor of the van and bringing me out of my nap. I sat up, shook my head to clear the sleepiness, and looked outside to see what we stopped for. There appeared to be a wreck of a building in front of us, but we could not make it out well. Evan got out to investigate and came back to tell us that it appeared to be some remnants of Talpa's castle. "They were not here this morning though," Mia said nervously. "No it wasn't. I just put it there!" a voice boomed. We glanced at each other nervously and then outside. There stood one of Sekmet's demons. Its hair was a series of bull-whips that moved about like a bunch of snakes. It reminded me of Medusa, who was one of three mythological sisters, and the ugliest, with snakes instead of hair, and whoever looked at her ugly, scaly face turned to stone. It had an old fashioned samouri armor on and a mask over its face, with two slits for eyes, a slit for the nose, and one for the mouth. The guys thundered out of the van. I tried to follow, but I ended up face down on the asphault with my legs screaming in pain. In a flash of light, the guys had their sub-armors on, and in another their armors. I used my arms, still hurting, to climb back up into the van. Mia had deserted the van. "Mia!" I screamed. "Help! Please!" She didnt come back, though. I guessed that she didnt hear me. I crawled further into the van and locked the doors and balled up as much as I could under the seats. Something hit the van. I looked to the window and, amidst the blood and blonde hair, I saw the pain on Aric's face. "No!" I shouted. I crawled out, transformed into my armor, and bounded out of the van, being careful not to step on anyone. The warriors were on the ground in pain. I flinched at the sight and put on my fighter's face. "You son-of-a-bitch! Come get me!" I shouted. He came toward me at an incredible speed, but not quickly enough. I leapt into the air and gracefully landed in a tree, although my legs were screaming even more. I ignored it and leapt into the air again. I quickly called forth a single katana and brought it down on the demon, shouting for my sure kill and incinerating him with a great deal of electricity. I stood for a moment, numb from shock, and then collapsed. I cried for a very long time from the pain and eventually drifted into a bleak and black unconsciousness.

I awoke to the sound of crackling and the warmth of a fire and slowly sat up. We were in the woods, in my secret clearing where I go to find peace and quiet for my meditations. 'Well,' I thought. 'Its not so secret anymore.' Anubis emerged from the other side of the fire. "How do you feel?" he asked of me. I nodded that I was ok and crawled over to Aric. He shifted and fell back to sleep. "Good. You need your sleep after all of that." I whispered and kissed him on the head. He smiled and grabbed my hand. I lay down on his shoulder and sighed. "Amber." Anubis said. I looked over to him. "You know you cant get into a relationship. You have an arranged wedding. The ancients looked into the future and decided who you were to marry. You can not just keep going around and falling in love with people. I will tell you one thing, though. He is alive now and he is one of the four boys you see before you, but I am afraid it is not Aric." he said grimly. I looked at him in disbelief. "You think I dont really love Aric, dont you? I do! This is not like the others. I got taken from him, but he came after me and rescued me! Why cant it be him? Why?!?!" I said, exasperated, but trying not to wake the others. He looked at me, a pain in his eyes, for he knew how I felt. "If I could change it, I would.....for you I would.....but you know it is not my decision. I am sorry." he said and turned away. He walked into the woods, disappearing. "How will I know who it is," I spoke aloud. *Tomorrow night you will have a dream........The one who you are marry will be revealed to you then.....Farewell sister.* A single tear slid down my cheek. I lay my head back down on Aric's shoulder, looked at his handsome face, and decided to move back to where I was. Sad and heartbroken, I cried myself to sleep. 

I woke up to Evan feeling on my legs where the breaks had been and Aric holding me in his arms. I looked in confusion to Evan. He sat back on his heels, shaking his head. "Move your legs," he commanded, dumbfounded. I protested weakly, but he silenced me and commanded me once again to move my legs. I did and they moved without any pain. I stood with no pain. I walked, hopped, and did a backflip with no pain. I looked to him and shrugged. "I guess I am a quick healer," I said in a melancholy voice, still upset about the night before. "Well," Mia shouted, "lets pack up and go home!"

We arrived at the house, just waiting for the worried fathers to greet us. Ryo bounded out the doors with the others behind him. "Where have you guys been?" he shouted. We leapt out of the van and bolted for the house. The fathers caught their child and asked about our whereabouts. Sage caught me and Aric in his arms and led us to the living room. I glanced nervously to Sage and Aric. *I dont want to tell him. I dont want to break his heart.* I kept thinking. I decided it would be better to do that though. I broke free of Sage's grip and grabbed Aric, explaining that I had something important to tell him. I told him about what Anubis had told me the night before. "And tonight you are supposed to dream about who you are supposed to marry." he asked in disbelief, the sadness showing in his eyes. I nodded, eyes tearing up and over-flowing. "And what is worse is that it is one of the other three guys. I cant believe that, just as I have found a true love, he has to burden me and you with this. I cant....believe..." I trailed off and broke into deep sobs again. He put his arms around me to comfort me, but it made me feel worse. I broke free and ran upstairs to our room. I threw myself down on the bed and cried until I fell asleep again. I woke up in a beautiful grove of cherry blossom trees. The wind blew and shook a few loose to flutter down to me. I held one in my hand and it disintegrated. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a long, flowing white dress. I stood and walked around, but soon found out that it was a enclosed space, sort of like a sphere, but it had no solid walls. A form appeared in front of me. As it slowly took shape, I could see that it was Rune. I walked forward, but he turned and ran, dissappearing into a tree. I looked in confusion at that direction, but a flash of light behind me brought my attention to another form appearing. It was Evan. He had his lute with him, playing a slow, sad tune. I moved toward him and he did the same thing that Aric had done. I began to get scared. *Ok, it is not Evan and it is not Rune.* I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and turned as another flash of light came from my right side. It took a little longer to appear than the others, but as it took shape I knew who the one I was going to have to marry was. The figure that took shape was Aric. He looked sad and forlorn. That left Kyle, the leader of the Ronins. As Aric dissappeared, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I slowly turned around, and there stood Kyle. He smiled at me and took my hand. *I know you are dissappointed that it was not Aric, but I am sure that we will be happy together. We will guard this world from evil and keep it safe for as long as we can......together.* he spoke without speaking. I looked at him with no expression on my face. He tilted his head to the side. *Why do you say nothing?* he inquired. The space around us dissolved and I was falling into a blackness. I screamed and screamed. I was extremely scared. I fell farther and farther into the hole.

"AMBER!!!" a voice shouted. I awoke, dripping wet with sweat and panting. Rowen was over me with his medical kit looking in worry. The household was standing around watching in worry. I started shaking and I brought my knees up to my chest and hugged them. "Are you ok?" Rowen asked. "You were screaming. What happened?" I sat there, not answering, and trying to catch my breath. "Did you have the dream," Aric asked. I looked at him sadly and nodded. "Well, I told them about it. Who is it?" he asked. I shook my head. "Tell us, please." they repeated. I shook my head again. "Why reveal the future. You will know when it comes along." I said. Aric stepped up. "Please?" he begged. I sighed and lifted a shaky finger into the air. I moved it from Aric, to Rune, to Evan, and stopped at Kyle. His eyes widened as it clicked that her hand was not going to move anymore. Everyone looked to the wide eyed, blushing Kyle. I dropped my hand back to where it was, around my knees. I explained the dream, in detail, to them. They decided that it was true, and Aric and I decided that we would have to, unfortunately, live with it. My eyes overflowed again. I explained to Kyle that it was not his fault that I was crying, but the fact that this had to come about after I had fallen in love. They left, one-by-one, for the living room. I got up and showered and dressed. I slowly made my way down to the living room. "Amber, hurry up! It is a school day." Mia shouted. I quickened my pace and made my way, instead, to the van. I hopped into the front seat, being the first one there, and buckled myself in. The others began piling into the van. I stared ahead, not looking at anyone. Mia eventually made it to the van and off we went to school. I watched the trees go by and wondered what it was going to be like with Kyle. I had been wondering for so long that it surprised me when we stopped in front of the school. Where had all the time gone? I hopped out and bolted for my locker and my first class. Classes went by quickly. At lunch, I sat outside, but I was able to see Aric on my way out. The girl that threw the knife at me was sitting with him. I winced and quickened my pace, keeping my head down. After school, I made it to the van first again and sat in the front. When we got home I went straight up to our room and studied. I dont know why, because tomorrow we did not have school. Just to get away from everyone. Kyle joined me after a while, studying for an extra class that he took some days after school at a local college. It was a psychology class, and he had some research to do. I helped him with the knowledge I had, and the rest he looked up on the internet. Mia called for everyone to come to dinner, and I bolted for the table. I had not eaten much for lunch and I was starving. As I scarfed down my food, I thought about school and work. I needed a job. I thought about who might be hiring, and narrowed my choices down to a clothing store that I thought was neat. I thanked Cye for the wonderful meal and took my dishes to the kitchen and headed outside. I sat on the porch and listened to the night creatures and the wind. Why were the ancients angry with me? They have put me through much heartbreak and many obstacles. Why can I not live a normal life for once? I kicked at the air. Spontaneous decisions are one thing that I am good at. I decided that I would try my hardest to not fall in love anymore untill everything fell into place, and that is kind of hard when your kanji (virtue) is love. I hopped up and spun around, running into Kyle and knocking both of us down. I apologized and we helped each other up. I asked him how on earth he was able to sneak up so close to me like that. He smiled and said that he had no idea. My heart stopped for a moment when he smiled. *Uh oh....no...falling....in....love....girl!!!* I smiled and giggled. "Oh well. HEY! Are you guys going to the dance tonight? I totally forgot about that!" I blurted out. He nodded and said that the guys were getting ready now, and that it is taking so long because Myra is in the bathroom. I laughed and headed for the door. "I need to head up there and accompany her in there. I have to wash my hair and dress in something better than this," I said pointing to my skirt and rolled up shirt. I bounded up the stairs and dashed to our room. the remaining three guys were beating on the door and yelling threats. I skipped to the closet and picked out a blue pleated skirt and a light-blue baby-tee with my kanji on it in black and yellow confetti and smiley faces and hearts surrounding it. I also picked out a pair of stockings with my kanji imprinted all over them, a pair of yellow tennis shoes, a yellow long-sleeved shirt to wear over the baby-tee, yellow hair accessories, a yellow watch and earrings and necklace, a yellow belt, and a pair of undies and a bra. I pushed the cursing boys out of the way and asked throught the door if I could join her in the bathroom. She said it was ok and let me in. I showered again and dressed and put on some make up, also helping Myra with her make-up. We emerged from the bathroom as beautiful young ladies. The guys' eyes widened and we smiled and stuck a pose. They shook their heads and ran for the bathroom. We narrowly ducked out of the way and muttered a "humph" and dashed downstairs. Mia was just walking into the living room when she saw us emerge. She smiled and clapped her hands together. "Well, dont you two look glamorous!" she shouted. We walked into the living room and the fathers gasped. "Myra?!?!" Kento shouted, surprised. "You look......BEAUTIFUL!!!" he said, bursting into tears. "You remind me of your mother!!" She ran to him, trying to quiet him. I looked on, wide eyed, and decided to go back out onto the porch. As I walked out the door, Kyle looked up at me. His eyes widened when he saw me. I smiled and walked over and sat by him. He kept his eyes on me. "What?" I said, blushing. He muttered one word: beautiful. That made me turn a much darker shade of red. He swept past me to go up to the room to change. I sat down and stared up at the moon and dream some more. I saw a flash of light off to my left and I brought my attention to that direction. Anubis was approaching. I hopped down off of the porch railing and sat on a step. When he reached me he sat down next to me on the step. For a while, we didnt speak. I continued my staring at the moon. "Why are you angry with me, sister?" he asked quietly. "You know I didnt mean for you to have to give up your love. Kyle cares for you, also. He..." I cut into his sentence, "But it is not the same! In an arranged marriage you have to put up with the person. With real love, there may be more heartbreak and confusion, but it lasts longer!" I exclaimed. I took a few breaths to calm down and relaxed. "You know he cares for you in another way than that. You can tell by the way he looks at you. It is not lust you see in his eyes, but true love and caring. I can not help your being angry or anything, but at least try to get over your anger and see Kyle's true feelings." he said and left. I gritted my teeth and hopped back up onto the railing. Rune came out of the house with his lute and began playing quietly, not seeing me sitting on the railing. "That sounds nice, Rune. Where did you learn to play like that?" I asked, startling him. He blushed and said that he had purchased a few lesson books. I urged him to play on. He played a tune I recognized, so I hummed along and eventually began singing along. He ended the song and looked up at me wide-eyed. I opened my eyes and turned red again when I found out that I had been singing again. He sat his lute down and sat down in a nearby chair, staring at me wide-eyed still. "Where on EARTH did you learn to sing like that?!?!" he exclaimed, astonished. I smiled and sat up on the railing. "When you have been around for over 400 years, you begin to pick things up. I like to sing, but I am not THAT good. I just do it when my heart tells me to." I said. He sighed and shook his head. "You are the best singer I have ever heard! Dont be so modest!" he said. I laughed and hopped down from the railing and walked around a bit to stretch. Evan came out the door and sat next to Rune. "Hey there Rune. Why dont ya play something. I need to work on my dancing so I can sweep all of the ladies off their feet." he shouted, happily. Rune picked up the lute again and played the same song he had just played. I sang along again, feeling better now and not so angry. When the song was over, I heard clapping. I looked up and there stood all of the teens, their fathers, and Mia. I turned real red and slinked to the van and sat down in the front seat. The teens hopped in and buckled themselves in. "Where did you learn to sing like that?" a few of them asked me. I shrugged and said that I was not taught. I just sing. I watched the stars and the moon during our little car trip to the dance. Mia dropped us off and handed us one of the cellular phones she had with her and told us to call her when we were ready to come home. We shouted 'ok' and rushed to get inside the gym. People were everywhere and it was more than crowded. We made our way to an area where there were few people and stood and talked for a while with a few friends from school. I glanced at Kyle a few times and caught him watching me with interest, but when he noticed me looking he quickly turned his attention elsewhere. I felt flattered and continued to move around and talk to people. My favorite song came on, and I hopped up and down happily. I looked for the guys, but couldnt find them. I finally found Kyle and asked him if he wanted to dance with me, because that was my favorite song and everything. He agreed and we headed out onto the dance floor. Wile we were dancing, we passed Myra, who was dancing with a handsome blonde. She winked at me and shot me a thumbs-up. I grinned and rested my chin on Kyle's shoulder. I felt him shudder and relax. I smiled and closed my eyes, moving with the music. I heard someone move near us and I looked up. A lanky, weird looking boy was leering at me. He giggled and dissappeared. I frowned and looked around for him. "What's wrong?" Kyle asked. I told him and he also frowned. All of a sudden I heard glass breaking and the music stop. I looked to the glass windows that were on either sides of the doors, allowing people to see outside. There stood soldiers, grabbing people and throwing them out of their way. They grabbed one of my art partners that I spoke with often and held a knife to her throat. I moved forward quickly and shouted "hey!" I grabbed the soldier and shoved him backward with my strength, causing him to lose his grip on my friend. She scurried into the crowds. I looked to my left where more soldiers were harassing people. I moved toward them quickly. They looked up and released their victims. They readied themselves for a fight. I leapt into the air and landed a kick, knocking a few of them over. One of the ones still on its feet swung a sword at me and I ducked and did a sweep kick and knocked him down. One of the soldiers grabbed the girl that had thrown the knife at me and for a split second I contemplated letting him have her, but I decided that I had better help her anyway, despite the desputes. I punched him in the face and kicked him in the midsection. I caught her when she fell out of his grasp. She looked at me and glared. "YOU!" she shouted. I dropped her. "That is the last time I try to help you out," I muttered and moved to more soldiers. Kyle and the others were doing the same now. We thought we had them beat with out having to use our armor when we heard a high-pitched laugh. We looked up and there stood a warlord recruit. He leapt up and dissappeared again. Before I had time to react I felt arms wrap around me. I struggled and bit and kicked and did everything I could but he would not let me go. I gave the others a helpless look that meant that I would have to transform. They nodded and Kyle called us to arms. The recruit was blinded by the light of goodness for long enough for me to escape and turn on him. Now in my armor, I called forth a bull whip, wrapping him up in it. He screamed an undistinguishabe word and my bull whip dissappeared. My eyes widened and I narrowly escaped a quick tackle toward me. I hopped up and over him, grabbing him from behind and locking him in my grip with my strength. He shouted the word again and I felt a burning in my arms. I screamed and leapt back a few feet. I looked over and the guys were occupied with the soldiers. I felt him kick me in the back and then in the abdomen. I groaned and looked up at him with a squint. He smacked me in the face with the back side of his hand and sneered at me. He then took out a dagger and held it above me. "Any last words for the trickster before I put you out of your misery?" he giggled. I tried to get up, but fell back down when he drove the dagger into my left shoulder. I screamed in agony and grabbed at my shoulder. I looked around scared. I could not get away. I decided I would have to try to save myself though. I kicked him in the groin area and slapped him in the face and landed an elbow to his neck, temporarily paralyzing him. Gingerly holding my shoulder, I made my way to the guys, who had just finished off the last of the soldiers. Kyle ran to me, a worried look in his eyes. He inspected the damage and ordered Aric and Evan to get a medi-kit and try to clean and doctor it up. The warlord recruit was waking up. I stared in alarm as he stood and shook his head to clear the grogginess. "Get her out of here! She is in no shape to fight!" Kyle shouted. He moved angrily toward the recruit and said in his most mature sounding voice, "What is the meaning of this? Why do you choose to interrupt a small gathering and treat all of these people with disrespect? And foremost, why did you do that to my wife-to-be?" People gasped as he said that last bit of information. The recruit smiled. "I only do what my master bids me do. As for your little slut over there, I think she will get over it. Hey sweetie, will you forgive me if I take you out for a ROUSING night on the town?!?!" he shouted at me. I cringed and Kyle grew even more furious. "That is enough. You wish to pick a fight? I will fight you!" he shouted and leapt up to the ceiling. He grabbed onto a beam and did an ally-oop through the sky-light. The recruit followed. We saw them land in front of the gym and begin fighting. I shrugged Aric and Evan off and moved forward to watch. Kyle got a few good moves in, and so did the recruit, but the recruit drew first blood. He nailed Kyle in his left shoulder. I winced as I saw the blood flow. The recruit attacked relentlessly. He drew much more blood. I decided that Kyle needed help. I dissappeared into the crowd. With my lightning speed I moved around behind him and leapt into the air. I called forth a katana and brought it down. He sensed my attack and countered it with a dagger. I used my strength to try and bring it closer to him, but I could not. He threw up the dagger in a complicated move, sending my sword off to my right to land in a tree. I slowly brought my eyes back to the recruit. I looked at him and put a silly grin on my face and shrugged, giggling. He frowned and punched a button on the blade, making it grow from a dagger to a sword. I gulped and backed away. He took a few swipes at me and I ducked, hopped, and slid out of the way of the blade. I glanced nervously at Kyle, who started moving toward us quickly. I lost my balance and he landed a blow to my left leg, creating a slash that went accross the scar. I wimpered and slinked back more. Kyle snuck up on him and called out his sure kill, forcing the recruit to retreat. I winced as Kyle touched the leg and the shoulder. He looked at me with a worry in his eyes. "Are you ok?" he asked very seriously. I returned the stare and nodded. He picked me up and carried me to the parking lot. He sat me down and called away his armor. I did the same, experiencing much more pain. He took out a couple of strips of material from his pocket and tied them around the wounds. "I keep these around because I am always getting hurt," he explained. I kept my eyes staring into his. He sat down beside me, inspecting his work. I smiled and said 'thank you'. He smiled back, worry still in his eyes. I asked him, shyly, if there was something I could do to repay him. He smiled and shook his head. I moved forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. He turned red and looked away. I lay back on the pavement and stared up at the stars. Kyle lay down also and pulled me over to lay on his shoulder so I would have a pillow. I moved closer to him, absorbing his warmth and breathing in the smell of his after-shave. I relaxed my muscles and the pain lessened. Sirens began blaring nearby and we looked up and a police car and an ambulance pulled into the parking lot. We stood and started walking toward them. We then heard a screech of tires and saw a truck pull in front of the ambulance and start heading right toward us. Kyle grabbed my hand and ran, half dragging me behind him. The truck gained on us. In a flash of light Kyle was in his sub-armor and he turned, grabbed me, and jumped out of the way of the truck, landing on his back to keep from hurting me and keeping his arms around me as a shield. He started rolling, making sure I didnt get caught on anything while he was doing it, and fell into a cement ditch that was pretty deep. He rolled over on top of me incase they tried anything and then didnt move. I moved my head slightly and whispered in his ear, "Are you ok?" Not moving, he answered that he was ok. I said, "Good," and shifted beneath him. "Are you uncomfortable? I can move some if you are." he said. "No, I am fine. My leg is falling asleep. Probably from blood-loss. It is ok though." I said and turned so I could see his eye. It was turned to see me and it had that worried look in it still. I smiled and said that I was ok and kissed him on the cheek. His eye glazed over and he blushed. He raised up a little and smiled at me. I could now see his whole face. He had scraped his face on the concrete. I reached up my hand and gently touched the scrape. He brought his hand up and put it over mine. He slowly moved his face closer to mine. I felt his lips meet mine and I kissed him back. I had promised this about Aric and it didnt work out, but I tried again. I didnt want it to end. I felt something hit Kyle and he arched his back in pain. I looked up from under him, helpless with his weight on me, at the soldier on top of him. He had a bloody knife in his hand and he smiled. I pushed Kyle off of me, apologized and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and transformed into my armor as quickly as possible. I called forth a katana just in time to counter an attack. I tried to get close to him, but my senses were not as strong as usual from the blood-loss. I finally got a slash at his leg, and then one at his shoulder, causing him to draw away from me. I called forth one of my lesser attacks and easily defeated him. I ran back to Kyle and checked his back. He had stabbed him in the shoulder. I called away my armor and bid Kyle to do the same so I could take him up to the medics. He did and we helped each other out of the ditch and just barely made it to the ambulance before they left. They checked us out and decided that they had better take us to the hospital. The other guys hopped into the ambulance with me and Kyle and rode to the hospital with us. I tossed Myra the cellular phone and she called Mia to tell her to meet us at the hospital and told her what happened. The medic who was overlooking our injuries gave us a pain killer. It put me to sleep. 

When I woke up, I was in a room by myself. I searched for the buzzer for the nurse. I finally found it and punched it. She came in and asked what I needed. "Where is Kyle?" I asked frantically. "Why, he is in another room on a higher floor. Why?" she said. "Please, can I be put with him, or the opposite?" I begged. She shook her head. "We can not allow a male and a female to stay in the same room." she stated. I explained that we slept in the same room at our house and that we are going to be married and everything but she still would not allow it. "Well, can I go see him?" I asked. She shook her head again. "Ma'am. You are in no condition to be seeing him. He is in a better shape than you are. At least he can walk." she said. "Well, can he see me?" I asked. Frustrated, she said she would try. I asked her what the phone number of his room was and she dialed it for me. Mia answered. "How is Kyle?" I asked. She said he was ok and asked what my room number was. I told her and she let me go. I relaxed and surveyed myself. I had a bandage on my head, one on my left shoulder and arm, one on my left leg, one around my body from above my chest to my abdomen, a wrist brace on my right hand and an ankle brace on each ankle. I now saw what she had been talking about. I laughed to myself and closed my eyes. Mia then walked in with the teens and their fathers, minus Kyle and Ryo. I smiled and waved to them as best as I could. They winced when they saw me. "How on earth did you get into such an awefull shape?" Mia shouted and ran to my bedside. I told her with a laugh that I did not know I was in such a bad shape until just a second before when I had looked at what all they had wrapped around me. She shook her head and touched my hand. "Kyle will be heartbroken when he sees you." she muttered. Just then he came in the room with the assistance of a nurse and Ryo. He brushed them off when he saw me and stood in shock. "Oh my god....how..." he muttered and stumbled over to my bedside. He took my hand, eyes widening, and started muttering 'forgive me' over and over. I took my hand out of his grasp and raised his head to see him eye-to-eye. "Listen to me closely. I dont want you to blame yourself. Ok? Listen! It...is...not...your...fault....I am the one who decided to do all of that and attack them when they were breaking in and disrupting the dance. I am the one who was not concentrating enough. I have forgotten my meditations today. I did not meditate once. Please listen to me. You did not cause this, I did! Ok? I am more worried about you than I am of me. Are you ok?" I said. He nodded and grabbed my hand again and kissed it. I turned red and smiled. "Ok Kyle. It is time to get you back to your room." the nurse said. Kyle shook his head. "I want to stay in here." he said. "But...I cant let you stay in here....males and females are segregated here...I am sorry but.." she said, frustrated. Kyle walked over and plopped down on the couch. "I am not leaving this room. You can bring my stuff in here or it can stay in the room and I can sleep on the couch and go get it in the morning." he stated. Frustrated, she took off to his room to get his stuff. I looked at Ryo. "And _who_ taught him to be so up-front and direct?" I asked with a grin. The fathers laughed and Ryo smiled and turned red. I looked back to Kyle who sat and stared at me, not moving. I would have bet anyone money that if the doctors tried to come in with security guards and everything to get him back to his room, he would have fought them and won. I smiled and relaxed into my bed, closing my eyes. When I heard the nurse wheeling a hospital bed in I opened my eyes. On the bed were his extra clothes that Mia had brought, my extra clothes because she did not know the room that I was in, and the other things like IVs and such that were for him. He got situated in his bed and said 'thanks' to the nurse. He looked over at me and smiled. "Hey dad. Come here." he said. Ryo went over and Kyle whispered something in his ear. Ryo said 'ok' and got to work on what Kyle had asked him to do. He moved a desk out of the way that was in-between my bed and his and then he pushed the two beds together. I looked at Mia with a bewildered look on my face and said, "Can you believe this?" She smiled and patted my hand. She muttered something that sounded like 'true love' and stood to leave. "We will leave you two _love birds_ by yourself now. Just dont do anything we wouldnt do!" Kento boomed, causing the room to erupt in laughter. "Go to sleep. You need rest." Rowen said. "Yeah, you would know, Dr. Hashiba." I said with a smile. I relaxed as they left. "Sheesh. I have known most of them for a very long time, but I still get nervous in a room with a lot of people, even them." I muttered aloud to myself. Kyle snickered and reached over to touch my hand. I looked into his deep blue eyes and the burning began in my chest again. I squeezed his hand and felt myself slip into a deep sleep as my drugs kicked in. I smiled and fell asleep. 

I woke up to a crash and a scream. I looked wide-eyed at the nurse who was staring at me in horror. "What?!?! Nobody looks perfect when they first wake up!!!" I shouted, laughing at my own joke. "Dr. Hashiba, Dr. Noshano. Come here quickly!" she screamed. I sat up and looked at myself. The bandages were half-off like she had been changing them or something. My wounds were, for the most part, almost completely healed. I looked over and Kyle was up and dressed normally instead of in his hospital gown. "Dont worry. The other nurse who changed mine did the same thing. Dr. Hashiba, um, I mean, Rowen, will give her some drug to make her forget." he said with a smile. "It will sure be good to get home." He reached in his pocket and brought out a pair of sunglasses. He slipped them on and did a double thumbs-up. "So, do I look like a cool American dude?" he said, smiling. I laughed and said that he looked like a biker. He smiled and hopped up and walked to my bedside. He helped me sit up and stretch. I leaned into him and stared up at his eyes. His face moved to mine and he kissed me. I smiled and kissed back. Just then, Rowen walked in. Kyle hopped up and scratched his head and turned a very dark shade of red. "Man. We get no privacy around here." he said, chuckling. "Well, a hospital is not exactly the best place to make out." Rowen said with a smile. "Looks like you will be able to go home. Tell Mia I will be a little late. I have an extra surgery and a meeting tonight." he said. I hopped up, ran to get my clothes, and dashed for the bathroom. In ten minutes I emerged from the bathroom and grabbed Kyles arm. He escorted me to Mia's van. Rowen had called her while I was dressing and told her to pick us up. I sat in the back with Kyle on the way home. He pulled the collar of the jacket off of my shoulder, pulled the sleve of my baby-tee up a little, and surveyed the scar. "It is almost fully healed! I wish I could heal that quickly." he said with a smile. "How are your leg and back?" he asked. I raised the shirt up in the back to let him see and he gasped. "What?" I asked. "Wha....wha....what are those other scars from?" he asked, wide eyed. I blushed and looked away. "What are they from?" he demanded. I stared out the window, not answering. "Please.......tell me." he said. The desperation in his voice was extremely evident. I sighed and told him that Talpa and the warlords, mainly Sekmet, did it to me while I was captured there. They came to my school in America and took me and imprisioned me, putting me back into this body and torturing me. When I finished I looked at him. He was glaring at the floorboard. My eyes softened. I touched his shoulder and he looked at me, anger flaring. "I am going to make Sekmet pay for this." he hissed. "Calm down. You need to worry about making him pay for what he is doing _now. _This was a very long time ago. I am still alive, although I wish I were not sometimes. I was _ hoping _ that something would kill me one of these days and I would not have to be alive for forever. I dont care now. I only care about the safety of the people now, even if it means self-sacrifice. I dont worry about that stuff anymore." I said. I felt like I was just rambling. He looked into my eyes and sighed. "You know, you have way too much courage for a girl of your size. I wish we had half of your courage." he said. I blushed and looked back out the window. I felt his arm slip around my shoulders. I turned around and leaned against him, snuggling in. Just about that time we pulled up at the house. I groaned and unbuckled myself. I got out of the van and stretched. I winced as pain bolted up my leg. I limped back to the van and sat down in the floorboard. I pulled up the skirt a little bit and saw that the wound had re-opened and it was bleeding badly. I shouted for Mia to come. Kyle hopped out and took out a strip of material and applied pressure to it to stop the bleeding. I winced, and watched as he tied it tightly. He picked me up and carried me to the house, even though he still had an injured shoulder. I kept protesting, along with Mia, that I could walk and that he did not have to do this, but he brused it off and did it anyways. When he sat me down he plopped down next to me. I looked at him angrily. "What!?!?" he said, exasperated and in pain. "I specifically told you not to carry me in your condition! I heal faster than you and you are not healed yet." I stated. He grinned and sat back. I saw a red blotch growing on his shirt. My eyes widened and I reached for his pocket. He gave me a look that said 'what are you trying to grab' and I looked at him and said, "Look. You are bleeding. Dont _even _ go there!" He laughed and took his shirt off so I could get to his shoulder. I gasped when I saw him shirtless. He had a very muscular upper body. Not the Arnold-type muscular, but built well. He had a very defined six-pack. Trying to keep my mind on his shoulder, I unwrapped a strip and wrapped it tightly around his shoulder. He winced as I applied pressure to it. I looked down at my leg and the bleeding on me had not stopped yet. "Um....Help!" I shouted. Mia finally stumbled in with a first-aid kit. She surveyed the scene and called for someone to come help her and for Kento and Myra to come too. She instructed Kento to hold Kyle down and Myra to hold me down. She thoroughly cleaned our wounds, which did not feel too well, and wrapped them up with a lot of Neosporin and clean bandages. They helped us back up to the couch where we sighed relaxed. I lay my head back on the back of the couch and closed my eyes. I felt something hit my good shoulder. I glanced down at my shoulder, not moving my head, and saw that Kyle had passed out on my shoulder. I smiled and closed my eyes again. I felt wonderfully calm. I dont know if Mia had given me a pain killer or not but I felt like I was numb, and it felt wonderful. I decided that it was safe to fall asleep, but as I was drifting off a young man crashed through the door. "Ru-ru-Ryooooo!!!" he shouted. I flinched and stared at the young man thoughtfully. "Hey...you look awefully familiar. Do I know you?" I asked. He looked at the couch, startled because he did not know I had been there. He gasped and a huge smile spread across his face. "AMBER!!! YOU ESCAPED!!!" he shouted. He ran to the couch and half-fell down onto the floor. I struggled to remember who this was. Then it hit me. Dark hair, short, skateboarder, YULI!!! "Yuli? Little Yuli?" I asked in disbelief. He nodded his head and somehow the smile grew. "Yup! It is me!" he shouted. Kyle sat up, shook his head and rubbed his eyes, said a few curses and looked up at Yuli. "Hey Yuli. Why did ya hafta wake me up like that, huh? I was having such a great dream. Argh." he said and grasped his shoulder. Yuli glanced at his shoulder and looked at me with a confused expression. I explained to him that we just had a very nasty battle and me and him were badly injured in it. Kyle lay his head in my lap and smiled up at me. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Dont think you can get comfortable there." I said, matter-of-factly. He gave me a sly smile. "And what are you going to do if I _do _get comfortable here?" he asked. I sighed, frustrated. "Nothing. I forgot. YOU are the leader and I am just some girl." I said and gave Yuli a smile. Kyle raised a hand and stroked my face. "You know I love you." he said. My breath caught in my throat and tears welled up in my eyes. "You...what?" I said, turning red. "Must I repeat everything I say?" he asked with a smile. I laughed and nodded. He sat up and stared me straight in the eyes. "Yuli....go..uh..talk to my dad about whatever you need to talk to him about, ok?" he said. Yuli grinned and ran off. Kyle moved himself to the edge of the couch and struggled to get off and onto his knees. I protested, trying to keep him on the couch, but he insisted. He reached in his pocket and brought out a small box. My eyes widened and I put my head in my hands, remembering what Cye did when he took out a small box. "Not again not again not again...." I whispered to myself over and over. He gave me a confused look and sat the box down on the couch. He lifted my face up and asked what was wrong. I told him the whole story about Cye and he nodded, understanding. "Well, I had something a little different in mind." he said with a grin. He picked the box back up and opened it up. In it was a smaller, velvet, flip-top box. He hid it behind his back and flipped the top up. "Amber....will you marry me?" he asked, producing a silver ring with a diamond in the middle. I couldnt breathe. I turned beet red and I think my heart skipped a few beats. I finally was able to calm down and breathe again. I nodded and said that I would. He took out the ring and slipped it on my finger, giving me a quick kiss. I gulped and squeeked out a question. "Hu-how did you know my ring size and, uh, that my favorite...jewelry was...silver?" I asked, stuttering. He smiled and said that he had made a little trip to my town to ask my mom and dad about my interests and stuff like that. I blushed and stared him straight in the eye. He did the same and smiled. I reached up and moved a stray hair out of his eyes and his smile widened. He made an attempt to get back up on the couch, but couldnt quite make it. I pulled him up the rest of the way and he toppled on top of me. I grinned up at him and he smiled and pinched my cheek. "You are too cute." he said. I turned red again and relaxed. He did the same, not moving from on top of me. I looked at him with fake anger and said to get off of me. He smiled and shook his head. Ryo burst into the room and shouted for us to get up, that there was an important meeting in the study room. We laborously stood and limped to the study. Yuli hurriedly told us about what he had run into on the way over here. He had seen Sekmet himself attacking people, trying to find the offspring of the other warlords. I looked at Ryo in alarm. He gave me a questioning glance. I stepped forward. "Who are the offspring of the warlords? I have never seen them, but I have heard of them. I know of Sekmet's child, Killian, but none of the others." I said. Yuli told me that he had heard about the marriages. Kayura and Dais married and had Angel and Gavin. Kale married and his wife had Cutler. They killed Kale and Kayura was captured. He had also heard that Dais, in desperation, sent the children to earth to find the ronins and to call others to arms. I nodded and said that I was going to start looking for them. Kyle offered to help, but I said that he did not need to. I limped to our room and found a crystal in my 'special' drawstring bag and called Kyle in. "I might as well use it on both of us so it wont go to waste." I said. I held it up as high as I could, closed my eyes, and concentrated. The crystal lit up like a light bulb and then turned into a ball of pure energy. I brought it down slowly, stopping at my abdomen. The ball of energy floated above my outstretched hands. It then exploded outward and imploded back into my hands and formed a small black stone. I smiled and opened my eyes. "Check your shoulder." I said. He did and found only a slight scar. One not big enough to open and cause serious injury. He looked at me in wonder as I showed him my leg and shoulder. "Wu-Where did you learn to do that?" he asked. I smiled and said that I learned it in the netherworld and that it was about time I visit there to replenish my crystal stocks. I hurried out the door, giving Kyle a kiss on the cheek on my way out, and rushed down the stairs and out the door. I hopped on my motorcycle and sped off to town. On the radio I heard something about some teens were sighted and two of them looked critically injured, and something about them being dressed in white gi's. I turned around quickly and went back to the turnoff that I had just missed and hurried to the place that was spoken of on the radio. Apon my arrival to the scene, I saw all of the medics trying to get near them. The girl seemed to have a shield of some sort up to keep them away. I rushed forward. When I got closer I recognized Killian. "Killian!" I shouted. The other three looked at me in astonishment. Two of them looked a whole lot like me, Kayura, and Anubis. I raised my right sleeve, showing my dragon tatoo that me and my brother and sister bore. The two recognized it and the boy limped forward, up to the shield. "Who are you and why do you have the same tatoo as our mother?" he asked. "What? She never told you that she had an older sister and brother?" I asked. He tilted his head to the side in confusion. "She told us of Anubis, but no one else." he stated. "Well.......I am Anubis' twin sister, Amber. I know Killian over there because his father took him to see me while I was imprisioned there. I have been imprisioned there for twenty five years and I had heard about you, but never got to see you." I said, looking apologetic. He smiled and touched the barrier, creating a hole. I walked through and it closed behind me. I rushed to Killian's side. "What happened?" I asked. *Sekmet did it. Help please.* the girl sent to me through telepathy. I smiled to her. "Dont worry. The ronins will help. One is a doctor and another bears an armor that heals." I said. I helped them pick up Killian. I looked over at my motorcycle and said an ancient word. It dissappeard and reappeared inside the barrier. They looked at me in surprise. "You could have gotten in the barrier?" they asked. I nodded and said that the reason that I did not was because I am drained and could bearly do the motorcycle. I concentrated hard and brought forth a warp that led to the ronin house. I helped carry Killian through and made sure the others made it through. We rushed Killian inside the house. "I found them. Help! One needs serious medical attention. Has Rowen gotten home yet?" I shouted. The whole household flooded down the stairs, including Rowen. They cleared off the kitchen table and Rowen set to work on Killian's poisoned wounds. When he finished, they made a comfortable bed on the floor and lay him down in it. We took turns monitoring him. Aric and Sage helped some with the armor's power of healing. They eventually revived him. He glanced around the room, eyes stopping on me. "You?!?! You....made it out of there? How?" he asked. I smiled and said that I had snuck out with some soldiers. He relaxed and grasped my hand. "I am glad that he did not manage to kill you. That was stupid of him to do that to you." he sighed. I called Kyle and Ryo in and told them that Killian had awaken. The netherworld teens then proceded to tell us about what drove them from their home and what Dais and Kayura had given them. Ryo nodded, indicating that he knew what to do. I stood and took my place next to Kyle and awaited instructions. He told us to go the shrine on the eastern outskirts of Tokyo and we will find something there that he needs. "What are we looking for?" Kyle asked his father. "Believe me, son. You will know when you see it." was his answer. I dashed outside and hopped onto my motorcycle. Kyle called Midnight to him and hopped on. He instructed Streak to stay and watch over the house. We rode off into the direction of the temple. I saw the birds fly in all different directions to flee some force that was unseen to us a few miles ahead. We continued on and almost literally ran into a tree in the road. I hopped off of my bike and ran up to it. I surveyed it to try and guess the weight. I decided that I might be able to lift it. I tried and succeeded in lifting it a bit. Kyle rushed over and helped. We were able to get it up enough to move it slowly toward the side of the road. I got frustrated with this. "Drop it Kyle." I instructed. We both dropped it and I brought out my armor orb, transforming into my sub-armor. He did the same. I explained to him that the tree was probably here to slow us down. I then transformed quickly into my armor. I called forth a chain and sickle. I used the sickle part to cut the tree up into a few peices and then proceeded to tie the chain around one peice. I used my motorcycle to move them out of the way. It took all of five minutes to do it that way. We finally were on our way again, in armor, to the temple. When we made it there it looked like it had been almost totally destroyed. Kyle stood there, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, staring at the rubble. "It is still here. I sense it." I said. I closed my eyes and sat down. Concentrating my whole being on the rubble I found a power trapped a few feet underground. Using my power of psycho-kinesis, I was able to slowly un-earth the object with all of that power trapped in it. It was a staff. It was not that different from mine and the ancients. I could sense a great force emmiting from it and I quickly dropped my hold over it when it began a counter attack, assuming I was an enemy. I countered it and was able to make it cease the attack. I called it to me and it dissappeared and reappeared in my hands. I looked over to Kyle who was staring at me in awe and smiled. "Why look at me like that. I am not dis-similar from you or anything. This is just part of the armor that I was given. As long as I have this armor, and maybe after if I am alive and have to pass it down, I will have some of these powers out of armor. It is a truly amazing thing." I said, walking towards the motorcycle. He followed and an unspoken agreement was made between us that we needed to hurry home. We encountered no obstacles this time and made it home in one peice, with the staff of course. Ryo smiled as we entered the door holding the magnificient sceptor. "Good! I knew you two would be able to find it. Now, this will be used to get you and the recruits into the nether demension that Sekmet has claimed. You will then launch a full-scale attack on Sekmet and his dark followers. We will also, for now, use this to find the recruits for all of those armors that Dais and Kayura forged. Lets see..." he said and began studying the staff to find out how to use it. I closed my eyes and a light enveloped me. I emerged from it in a yellow gi and holding my staff. I walked forward and held my staff up to the one he was holding. They began to glow and an image formed above them. It showed us where the ancient's staff was. It was hidden in the temple of security, where Cye, Ryo, Yuli and White Blaze had been attacked by Dais those many years ago. I moved my staff away and concentrated on the light again and was transferred back into normal clothes. Kyle and I headed out the door to the temple of security to retrieve the staff. This time, we had absolutely no trouble, which was strange. When we got home, I took the one that Ryo had and gave it to Angel. I gave the one we just retrieved to Gavin and I called back my staff. I explained to Ryo that the reason I gave it to them was because our bloodline was the same as the ancient's and that is why Anubis was able to take over for the ancient. We concentrated our energy together and held the staffs out to each other so that they were almost touching. Images appeared above the staffs. Many, many images of those who were the chosen ones for the armors. We remembered the faces, each and every one, like they had been ingraved in our minds. When we had seen all of the faces the staffs stopped glowing and we moved apart. Ryo proceeded to tell us that we were to separate and find these chosen people. I volunteered to take Hawaii, because that was one place that I had never been before. Kyle wanted to come with me, but I refused. I told him that we needed to split up and cover more area. I dashed upstairs and prepared a duffel bag with things I would need in it. Weapons, clothes, and personal items. I dashed outside in time to see a few of them leaving all ready. "Wait!" I shouted. They turned to look at me in confusion. "Here. You guys can get where you are going quicker with these." I shouted and threw them each a crystal. "What is this for?" Evan asked. I smiled. "Concentrate on where you want to go and it will open a portal to your destination." I explained. I waved farewell to them and dashed to my motorcycle. Kyle was waiting for me. "I want you to be careful, ok? If you are in trouble, send me a mind message or something and I will rush as fast as I can to get there." he said very seriously. I smiled and tossed him a crystal. I opened the compartment under the seat of the motorcycle and stuffed the duffel bag in it and slammed it shut. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and told him not to worry. I waved farewell to him as I dissappeared into a warp tunnel to find my first recruit. 

I came out of the tunnel in a desolate part of Hawaii. I was on the beach looking out into the beautiful water. It was night time and I could see the reflection of the moon in the water. I breathed in the tropical scent and pushed my bike forward some. "Hey! That was a good one. I bet you cant do it again!" I heard a feminine voice shout. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could see a figure emerging from the water carrying a surf board. The person was heading for another person who was sitting in the sand. I guessed that the one in the sand was who had shouted. I moved forward to see who they were. They immediately sensed my presence, though, and took stance. "Who is there? I dont want to fight anyone, man, but if I must I will win." the one holding the surf board shouted. I could tell it was a male by the gruffness in the voice. "Please. I mean you no harm. I am only looking for someone." I shouted to them. They held their stance. "We know everyone on this island. Who is it that you seek?" the female shouted. "I am looking for those who have recieved the call to arms. I sense that they are very close by. In fact, I sense it is you two. Tell me, are you Dimitri and Talamari Ka'apana?" I shouted back to them. They turned toward each other and whispered something to each other. "Who is it that wants to know? If you are another fool from the evil side we refuse to say anything." the male shouted. I dropped the motorcycle and moved forward, changing into my gi and calling forth my sceptor. "It is a person of goodness who seeks them. I am with the ronins and I have come to take them to Japan to train with the origional ronins, who are now passing down their armors to their children. Dimitri...Talamari, or Tala as you like to be called...Your destiny is to fight in the ultimate battle against evil. To do this, you must trust me and come with me to Japan." I said as I continued moving forward. When I was close to them, I commanded my sceptor to put forth light so I could see them. They were twins, though the differences in appearance were numerable. Dimitri was very muscular and Tala was somewhat small. When Dimitri saw my face, his seriousness colapsed into awe. "It is you! I saw you in my dream. You came to a strange chamber where I was separated from my sister and I was in there with many people I did not know who did not speak the same language but had armors and you set us free and we fought someone who's face was never shown." he said. I nodded. "You are having visions of the final battle. We must go to Japan as soon as possible. The others have scattered to all different places over the globe to find the others. We haven't much time." I said. They nodded and led me, after I grabbed my bike, to their house. There I met their younger sister. I played with her for a while, a pain growing in my heart for some reason, and then helped put her to sleep. We talked for a while about responsibilities and such and I explained the situation in Japan. We decided that we would leave immediately. As they packed, I packed the younger sister's clothing and put her in a carrier. With me carrying the child and her belongings, and the other two carrying their things, we stepped into a portal that led to Mia's house. We were in shock as we came out. There were so many people moving about. We stepped around them and made our way into the crowded house. "Mu-mu-Mia! Wu-where are you!!!" I shouted above all of the chatter. I answered questions from people in Japanese, Russian, English, Icelandic, and many other languages. I still shouted for Mia. I finally found her in a room upstairs. "Mia. Are these all of the recruits? There are so many of them. Where do I put these two, uh, I mean three?" I asked. "I dont know. We are well past out of room. We need another house for all of these people." was my answer. I sat the child down on a bed and told the other two to wait here just a moment. I whispered something to Mia and she nodded her head eagerly in agreement. I rushed downstairs and searched for Angel and Gavin. I quickly whispered my plan to them and they rushed outside with me. We concentrated our energy together again and were able to move some rooms from the remains of Talpa's castle into this realm and we divided them into female and male dormitories. I was also able to find my room left in the rubble and I brought it also so I would not disturb the others during training and would have some privacy for once. Kyle wanted to move into it with me and I let him. While we moved our things into my new/old room, the recruits moved into their dorms. When we were all finished, we all sat down where ever we could to eat. The adults were seated at the table and the rest of us sat where we could. I sat out on the railing and ate just a little bit of food. For some reason I was not as hungry as I usually was. I had a few scraps of meat and some rice. When I finished I took my dishes into the kitchen and washed them, dried them, and placed them in their spots in the cabinet. I washed the rest of the dishes and put them up also. I then wiped down the stove, sink, dining room table, and the windows around the stove. When I passed through the dining room again, I heard Mia saying in a very worried tone that she was running out of food quickly and that she did not know if she had enough money to keep this up. I quickly thought about finding a job again. I decided that I should look into it. I excused myself, telling them that I had an errand to run in Tokyo and that I needed to also run by the library for some study material. Rowen gave me a sideways glance and I grinned at him. I rushed past the recruits and teens and warlord teens that were lounging around and dashed to my motorcycle. I turned the key and nothing happened. I inspected it and found that someone had moved a few wires on it. I moved them back, glanced around and hopped on. I turned the key again and it finally gave a roar. I revved it a few times to make sure everything sounded right and kicked up the kickstand. I sped past the sleeping tigers and down the road to the highway. I decided that I would drop by a medical research institute and see if there was some way I could find work there. I walked in and asked if I could speak to the head of the institute. She directed me to the office. I knocked on the door and a woman bid me to enter. I slowly opened the door and walked in. The woman sitting behind the desk looked like she was in her late twenties or early thirties. She was a brunette with bright blue eyes and glasses. Her eyes were different from any I have seen in a while. They had no oriental slant to them like most of the people around here. She was definetly American. I greeted her in Japanese to test her language skills and she also greeted me in Japanese. "I was wondering if you had any openings for a researcher on your staff. If you do, I would like to apply for the job." I said. She looked at me over her glasses. "You dont look old enough to be working in this field. I will have to test you." she said skeptically. I grinned and said that it would be fine. She asked me a series of questions, or, should I say MANY questions. I answered every one of the questions correctly and even exaggerated some, giving more information for my answer than was required. Dumbfounded, she gave me the job. She led me to the research room where she gave me a briefcase with my study material and everything in it and showed me the subjects. They were all cryogenically frozen and lined up side-by-side. They were frozen because of various diseases that were life-threatening. The goal of the research was to find cures. I was given a subject who had a strange disease called Xanthophoritis. It is a disease that attacks the spinal cord and then moves up to the brain and disintegrates it. I was told that the subject I was working on had just gotten it a very long time ago and wanted to be frozen until a cure was found so that it would not even damage his spinal cord too badly. I was taken to the cylinder that my subject was in so I could see what he looked like. She pushed a button that removed the metal cover from it and turned on a light, illuminating the subject. I gasped when I saw him. It was my best friend Matt. I read his full name out loud from the plaque near the top of the cylinder. "Matthew Ryan Flinchum. Diagnosed 3-14-2003. Xanthophoritis in early stages. Hmmmm. Never thought I would get to work on my own best friend." I whispered to myself. "Huh?" the woman asked. "Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself Mrs...er....I am sorry. I dont know your name." I said. "Miss Thomas." she said. "Ok Miss Thomas. When shall I start?" I asked enthusiastically. "How about tomorrow?" she asked, grinning. "Ok boss!" I shouted and bounded off to my motorcycle. "Uh, Amber. Just how old are you?" she asked. I stopped and turned around slowly. "Ummmm........I am sorry, but I just cant tell you. You wouldnt believe me." I said. She nodded and waved that I could go now. I rushed to my motorcycle and sped off to the library. I checked out a few books on diseases and a few poetry boks to pass the time. I then returned home and headed to my room. I sat the books down and opened my briefcase. In it were a microscope, blood samples, a few medical chemicals for home tests, and various other test items and such. *This is going to be fun.* I thought sarcastically. I looked up when I heard the door opening and saw Rowen enter. "I sensed some medical practice going on in here. Tell me, just where did you go?" he asked and sat on the bed next to my briefcase. "A medical research center. I figured I could use my wisdom from being on this god-forsaken planet for so long to do something good for someone in need of a cure and to also help Mia with the bills since she now has so many new people in this house." I said and gathered up the blood samples to store in the refrigerator. "Ah. So you decide to take the medical approach to earning money. Did they ask your age? I am sure they did. What did you tell them, huh? I am real curious." he said. I could sense some tension and anger in his voice. "Yes, they asked my age. I told her that I could not tell her because she wouldnt believe me. She tested my knowledge. I passed. I start tomorrow. Dont tell anyone. I want it to be a surprise, and dont be so angry with me. I am working on my best friend from my school that I was taken from twenty five years ago. He helped me through a lot and I am going to help him through this." I said. He nodded, still visibly pissed off, and stormed out of the room. I looked at him, a bit confused, and went back to organizing my things. I had it all put up and organized just as Kyle walked in. "Hey there beautiful. Whatchadoin?" he boomed. I smiled and leaned back on the bed. "Whatever you want." I said, pouring on the cheezy moves and such. He smiled and planted a kiss on my forehead. He pulled me up and I put my arms around him. I kept my head back and stared him in the eyes and smiled real big, showing all of my teeth. He laughed and pulled me close. I have never felt so wonderful. I swore to myself that if Sekmet messes with my life now that he would pay severely. I heard Mia shout that it was dinner time. I told Kyle to go ahead. I didnt want anything to eat. He kept asking me if I was sure that I didnt want anything and I kept telling him that I didnt. I finally got him to go eat and I started to work on finding a cure. I surveyed the picture that they gave me of how his blood was before he contracted the disease and I compared it to the one of how his blood looked with the disease. I could very visibly see the difference. I took the blood sample and I tested a few of the drugs with it. I could not get it to work. I fished around for some regular house hold medicines that I could try to mix with the drugs that I was given with. I found some painkillers, antibiotics, and some other over-the-counter drugs as well as some perscription drugs. I tried many different combinations and none worked. I heard the door to Mia's house open and people talking. I guessed that they had finished eating. I quickly put up my medical equipment, hid it all and cleaned up my mess. I changed into my pajamas and grabbed a book and hopped onto the bed. When I hit the bed I suddenly didnt feel like reading anymore, so I sat it on the small bedside table and lay back and stared at the ceiling. Kyle came in holding a bowl with a lid on it and smiling. "What do you have with you?" I asked. He smiled and thrust the bowl toward me. I took it, eyeing him suspiciously, and opened it. There was a grilled chicken salad, expertly made with all of my favorite ingredients in it. I looked up at him. "Who made this, and how did you know it was my favorite?" I asked. His smile grew. "I made it and I found out from my father that it was your favorite." he stated. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you. It looks and smells delicious." I said and dove in. He watched me eat it until I finished every last bite. I glanced up at him, laughing. "What?" I asked. He reached over and pushed a hair out of my mouth. I giggled and kissed his hand. He stood and went to the bathroom to change and emerged in his pajamas. I stood and told him that I was taking the bowl to the kitchen. He said that he would take it, but I told him that I would and for him to get in that bed. He smiled at me devilishly and got in bed. "I will be waiting for you." he said in a cheezy french accent. I giggled and dashed to the kitchen. I entered the kitchen the back way so I wouldnt wake anyone up and washed the bowl and put it up. I decided to sneak through the house and check on everyone before I headed back outside. I knealt down beside Killian and checked on his burns. "Still trying to mother everyone, eh?" I heard from behind me. "So? What's it to 'ya, Ryo?" I asked and spun around. He was sitting at the dining room table, alone. "Nothing. Just wanted to try to startle you is all." he stated and smiled. "Man, everyone is sure smiling a whole lot lately." I said and sat down. He glanced at me curiously. "I sense that you are nervous around me. Why is that?" he asked. "Well...uh....I dont want to say. You will laugh at me." I said and looked down. "Tell me. If you tell me I will know what to do to make you not so nervous. I am going to be your father-in-law pretty soon." he stated. "Well, it is nothing that you can do really. I just think about the fact, when I am around you, that if it werent for dynasty interference that I would have had to marry you and Kyle would have been my son instead of my fiancee. It just makes me a little nervous." I said. He chuckled. "It is destiny. You were not meant to marry me, but you were meant to marry the leader of the ronins. Kyle is the one who is in your destiny to marry. You two will bring about a new revolution. You two will rescue humanity from evil." he stated. I was taken aback from the wisdom that was in his voice. "You definitely don't sound like the Ryo I knew before." I said. He chuckled again. "I have more wisdom now and I have my years behind me." he said. I smiled and lay my head down on the table, thinking about how I also have my years behind me. I just wish it werent so many. I am kind of bored with immortality, although others would disagree with me and try to argue with me that immortality was a wonderful, fulfilling thing. I sighed and then popped my head up. "I forgot. I was going to check on everyone and count how many we have now, including me and the 'origional' warriors and warlord children. I will see you in the morning." I said and hopped up. "Goodnight." he whispered. I began upstairs and counted the teenagers that slept in the room I use to. Then I went downstairs and counted the warlord children. After that I went and counted the females and the males in their respective dorms. When I finished I had a count of thirty nine, including me of course because I _am_ a warrior. There were only ten females, not including me, who were recruited though. Including me it was eleven. I stretched and patted the tigers on their heads when I passed, heading to my room. I stepped into the room, finding Kyle reading the book that I had on the table. "Love, love, love...hmmmm....they just dont have any _good_ poems in this book!" he exclaimed, shooting a sly smile at me. I grinned at him and snatched the book out of his hands. "It is not supposed to have any _good_ poems in it, or any that you are supposed to like. I happen to enjoy this kind of poetry very much." I stated. "And did you know that there are now thirty nine of us fighting against Sekmet. I counted _all_ of us, new and newer, and old in my case!" I grinned. His eyes widened. "Thirty _nine?!?_" he exclaimed. I nodded and hopped into the bed. I eyed him suspiciously. "You arent going to try anything while I am asleep, are you? We aint married yet." I said, still eyeing him. He shot me a devilish grin. "Who? Me?" he asked innocently. I smiled and turned over with my back facing him. I felt him reach down and pinch my butt. "Owwww!" I shouted and flipped over. "Oooo! You are in for it now!" I shouted, jumping up and landing with a foot on either side of his chest. I sat down on his chest, pinning him, and tickled him. He struggled to get out from under me but was no match for my strength. "Uncle! Uuuuuuncle!" he shouted between gasps. I quit and got off of him, grinning triumphantly. "Now, I need sleep. I have places to go tomorrow." I stated seriously and leaned back into my pillow. He smiled over at me sweetly and reached over to push a strand of hair out of my eyes. "You are so beautiful. Sekmet dosent deserve a wonderful girl like you." he said, drifting off. My eyes teared up and I whispered a thank you to him and also drifted off, his hand still on my face.

I woke up the next morning to an empty room. I could hear people moving about outside and I decided to investigate. I peeked out the door and saw that the warriors, warlord children, and recruits were training. I watched them for a little while and then I thought frantically about how I was going to sneak the breifcases out. I decided to shrink them to fit in my pocket. I showered, groomed, and dressed myself and prepared to go to work. I shrank my briefcases to fit in my pocket and headed to my motorcycle. Kyle looked up from his training drill. "Where are you going?" he asked. "I told you that I had things to do today in town." I shouted back. He nodded and returned to his drill. He was trying to learn how to use the chi of his body to create an energy ball out of armor so that he wouldnt be totally defenseless when he couldnt transform. He looked exhausted. My eyes softened and I rushed to my motorcycle. I turned the key and, again, it wouldnt start. I glared at it and checked the wiring. The wires were moved again. I growled in frustration and started putting them back where they were supposed to go. A few of the people training near me, including Kyle, looked up at me in confusion. "What's wrong Amber?" Kyle asked. "Some one keeps moving my wires!!! Every time I need to go, I turn the key and it wont start. I check the wiring and someone has messed with it and plugged certain wires in where they are not supposed to be plugged in and just leaving some unplugged!!!" I shouted, very frustrated now. He stood and walked over to survey what was left. He glanced around after he saw what I was talking about. "Any of you been messing with her bike?" he asked. They shook their heads and returned to their drills. He glanced back at the bike and then to me. "I am guessing that it may be a shadow warrior. Probably that practical joker." he though aloud. I nodded and kissed him on his cheek. "Well, gotta go." I said and finished moving the wires back. He smiled and bid me a good day. I nodded and rushed off to town. I pulled in around at the back this time and started up to the door. The guard stopped me and asked me for some identification. I fished around in the briefcase and produced a key card that was in a small pocket. He scanned it through the computer and it verified that I was an employee. He eyed me suspiciously, but let me pass. I grinned at him and rushed to my subject. I got a few ideas in my sleep last night that I wanted to try. I had noticed that one of the experimental drugs that I had recieved was closer that the others to a cure and that, if mixed with the right thing, may bring about a cure. I tried it mixed with a few more drugs that were available in the lab and one came real close to eliminating the disease. I happily showed the boss my progress and her eyes widened in shock. "You are doing extremely well for a new girl." she exclaimed. I smiled and excused myself to return to my work. I found some chemicals that were a bit stronger than the one I had just used and decided to try them mixed in with the other one. I anxiously watched as it began eliminating the disease. One by one I saw the good cells become stronger and over power the disease cells and demolish them. I hoped to myself that it demolished all of the bad cells. Finally, I watched as it demolished the very last disease cell. I hopped up and down, squeeling with happiness. The boss rushed to my side to see what my excitement was about. Her mouth dropped open as she saw that I had indeed found a cure. I quickly created more of the drug while they began the defrosting and re-animation processes on Matt. I tested it, just to make sure it would still work, and it did. When they finally finished it all they made sure he was in a deep sleep. I entered the room with the drug in a bottle and they injected it into his spinal cord. We monitored his blood as it began to slowly kill off the disease. We were relieved when it was over and the drug finished killing all of it. I wheeled him to a room and waited for him to awaken. When he did, he looked at me in confusion. "Amber? Is that you?" he asked, dumbfounded. I smiled and nodded. "It has been a while, eh? I have not seen you since the year 2000." I said. He slowly sat up, with my help, and surveyed his surroundings. "How on earth did you find a job here? I would think that they would not hire someone as young looking as you without asking a few questions." he whispered. I nodded and told him about the interview. "Well, now what?" he asked. "Well. You can come stay with us if you would like. You will be in the guy's dorm, of course. I guess I have a lot of explaining to do about how times have changed and everything." I said. He nodded and looked me over. "You havent changed much. Hey! Let me see your hand." he said. I held up my hand and he grabbed it. "Where on earth did you get that ring. Your not going to be married are you?" he asked in astonishment. I nodded to him that I was and began explaining everything about how things have changed. I felt something strange while I explained it all to him. I felt a connection to him for some reason. It felt kind of like I was near a ronin or a recruit. While I continued my explanations, I explored his mind and found out that he is supposed to answer 'The Call'. Although I was in shock, I continued the explanation without a hint of it.

It was late when I finally finished. Mrs. Thomas came in and told me that it was time to leave. I told her that I would let the subject stay with us and she gave me approval. "Just keep an eye on him to make sure he will be all right." she warned. I nodded, distracted with my job of searching for clothes for him. She asked me if I could lock up and I said that I could. She bid me farewell. I finally found some clean doctor's scrubs, and before handing them to him I concentrated, found his virtue and armor name and called apon his crystal orb. I placed it in a pocket and handed the scrubs to him and then stepped out into the lab to get the vial with the remaining medicine in it and a syringe and slipped them into my briefcase. I then made it pocket-sized and slipped it into my shorts pocket. "You dressed yet?" I shouted. "Yes. Where did you go?" he answered. "In here. Just follow my voice." I said and started humming. He eventually found me. "I will be ready in a moment. I am trying to find a place to put my lab scrubs." I said. "Ah. Here is a hamper." I exclaimed and aimed and threw the scrubs into it. "Three pointer!" I yipped, hopping up and down. Matt burst into laughter. I looked at him angrily and said, "What?!?! I cant be young every now and then?" I said and also burst into laughter. "C'mon!!! I gotta introduce you to everyone!" I exclaimed. We rushed out the doors, remembering to lock up and arm the safety devices. I ran to my bike and fired it up. "And when did you get _this?_" he asked and stared at the bike with some aprehension. "Dont worry. I am an expert with this thing. I have brought many first timers on this thing. Hop on!" I shouted and revved the engine a few times. He nervously put one leg over and made himself somewhat comfortable on the bike. "Ready?" I asked, handing him a helmet. He shot me a nervous thumbs-up and put on the helmet. I told him to hold on and I sped off to the house.

As we pulled up, I noticed that they were still training. I parked the bike and dashed to Kyle. He was eyeing Matt suspiciously. "If you guys train too hard you will be burnt out in the morning and wont have the energy to fight if we are attacked!" I warned. He looked at me and back at Matt. "Where did you pick _him_ up?" he asked with some tension in his voice. I laughed. "You dont think I will cheat on you, do you?" I asked. "He is my subject at the lab. He is also my best friend from a very long time ago. Before I was captured and brought back over here. He has been cryogenically frozen until a cure was found for his disease." I whispered. He nodded, still eyeing him suspiciously. "Matt! Come here." I instructed. He nervously plodded over to where we were standing, looking everyone over curiously. When he stopped in front of us, he noticed that Kyle was eyeing him and he decided that it would be humorous to eye him back. Kyle, frustrated, stormed to our room. I glanced back and forth between the two and called for Mia. "Mia, this is my friend Matt from my school in America a very long time ago. He has been frozen. Can you introduce him to everyone and find some clothes or something for him and help him move into the guys dorm? Please? Oh, and here." I said, handing her a wad of twenty dollar bills. She looked at them in disbelief. "Where did you get these and what are they for?" she asked. I told her that I had heard her say that they needed money because of all of the new people and that since I needed no training I went and found a job to earn money. She smiled at me and gave me a big hug. "Thank you." she whispered. "Oh. I am going grocery shopping in a minute. Can I borrow the van?" I asked. She nodded and started to the house to find clothes for Matt. "Well. Follow her." I told him. He looked at me sideways, but followed her. I rushed to my room and searched for Kyle. He was punching a trainers punching bag. "Kyle?" I nervously called. He whipped around, visibly angry. "Um. Please dont be mad at me. He is another warrior. I could sense 'The Call' in him." I nervously whispered. He approached me and threw his arms around me. "I can never be angry with you Amber. You know that dont you? I just lost it for a second." he whispered, reassuring me. "Do you want to go to town with me?" I asked quietly. "Sure." he said, hugging me closer. "Are you scared of me?" he asked. "Not you, your anger, not to be rude or anything. Anger scares me." I said. He hugged me even closer. I smiled and closed my eyes. "We need to go before it gets dark." I warned. He reluctantly went and showered off and dressed. We went and got the keys from Mia and were off to town. Kyle helped me with the groceries and even helped me put them up when we got home. I retreated to our room and slipped into my PJ's and went to sleep. 

"Amber! Help me! It HURTS!" Kayura shouted. "Sister! Help! PLEASE!! Aaaaaahhhh!" she screamed and collapsed in front of me. "Kayura! I am trying!" I said, struggling to move. I found that I could not move forward. I watched as she was taken out of my sight. I awoke, gasping and sweating. I looked over to make sure I had not woken Kyle up and he was sleeping soundly. I stood and changed and headed out the door. I took one more look at the sleeping Kyle and started off on my kamakazi mission.

"Dammit! Leave us alone!" Dais shouted. His eyes glared laborously at the shadow warrior in front of him and his bride. "Yes, please leave us in peace for once. We are in enough pain." Kayura said, wincing from a gash in her side. The shadow warrior grinned and lashed at them again with the whip. "You should never be disobedient." he said and continued the tortures. "I will make you paiiiiieeeeeeeeee!" he shouted and was tossed aside by an unseen force. A pair of yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness and began to approach the shackeled couple. "Who are you?" Dais asked, glancing over at his smiling bride. "Why are you smiling?" he asked. "I am surprised that you dont recognize my infamous glowing eyes, brother-in-law." I said, stepping into some light. "Amber!" he said, grinning. I called on a dagger and picked the locks on their shackles. They rubbed their wrists, relieved to be out of the chains. "No time to rest." I shouted, throwing one of them over each shoulder and dashing for the hole I had made in the floor. I dashed with lightning speed down the corridors, searching for a window. Shadow warriors appeared in front of me. I reached a speed so fast that I passed right through them with ease. I began to get tired and had to slow down. More warriors appeared in front of me. I leapt into the air and landed a kick to one and raced past him. I found a window and ran at it with full speed and leapt into the air. I turned my body where my feet were to meet the window instead of my head and I passed right through it, fell about five stories and landed in ankle-deep water. I raced for the portal at full speed. Another, more powerful warrior appeared in front of me. I leapt over him, landing in the portal. I came out of it in front of my room and closed it quickly. I sat the couple down on the ground and, exhausted and panting, fell to my knees and groaned in pain. Obviously this woke everyone up and they came rushing to us from every direction. "Amber? Sister? Are you ok?" Kayura questioned. I tiredly shook my head and fell face-down into the dirt and passed out. I could hear everyone freaking out around me and then it all went quiet.

"Hey! I think she is waking up!" I heard Dais and Rowen shout in unison. "Huh?" I muttered and sat up. Pain flooded into my head, causing me to lean back onto my elbows. "Wu-what hu-happened?" I stuttered. "You just broke into Sekmet's castle, broke through the defenses, saved your sister and brother-in-law, broke through more defenses and made it back in one peice. These kids should be training from you also." Rowen blurted out, still in disbelief. Mia walked up and smacked him in the back of the head. "HEY! What was that for?!?!" he shouted. Mia stormed around to stare him in the eyes. "All of those years in medical school and I KNOW MORE THAN YOU! You are supposed to let her remember these kinds of things, not force it apon her." she stated angrily. He rubbed his sore head. "SOOOOORY!!! I forgot in my excitement." he mumbled angrily. I grinned and patted him on the head. "It's ok." I said. I stood and stretched. They watched me to make sure I was ok. I left and went to my room. Kyle was sitting on the bed and staring at the wall. "Um. Are you ok?" I asked. "Why did you not tell me you were going to do that? I could have come with you to protect you." he said solemnly. "I, er, um....It was a kind of a spurr of the moment thing. I had a dream and I woke up with the incentive to go do that. I thought you needed your sleep and I didnt want you to worry about me." I said. He looked at me and smiled. I plopped down on the bed and sighed. "You know what I really have on my mind. How people see me. I dont know how anyone feels about me anymore. Well, except for Kento. He probably still views me as a moving punching bag, put there for him to take out his frustrations on and also to give him a challenge." I said with a grin. He chuckled and closed his eyes. "I have been with those guys for a long time. I know everything about them. Shoe size, clothes size, favorite food, favorite color, favorite brands, EVERYTHING, except.....well...what they think about me." I said with a sigh. "I look into the minds of guys at school and they see me as a walking eye toy, for them to have fantasies about. Ergh! I dont see how they can stand to look at me though. I am not pretty. I promised the guys that I would not look into their minds, and I havent intentionally I dont think, but I dont know how they feel about my presence here." I said, leaning back. Kyle stood and walked around to my side of the bed and picked me up in his arms. "What on EARTH are you doing?" I asked. "We are going to go find out how they feel about your presence here, like you want." he said. I protested but he wouldnt hear it. He carried me into the house and sat me on the table. I looked around at the guys who were sitting there conversing. They quit when they noticed my presence on the table in front of them. "Amber here wants to know how you feel about her presence here. She knows how Kento feels but not the rest of you." Kyle said with a smile. I blushed and looked down at the table. Kento looked me up and down. "And HOW, may I ask, do you know about how I feel?" he asked in a matter-of-fact tone. "Oh come on! You know that I know you view me as a walking punching bag!" I said. He grinned evily and ground his right fist into his left hand. "Speaking of which, I think it is about time for another session. PREPARE YOURSELF, SPAWN OF TALPA!" he said, giggling madly. My face contorted into a look of horror and I leapt up and over him just as he made a dive for me. I landed near the stair case and dashed up the stairs. He was following close behind. I bolted through the teen's bedroom. "Excuuuuuse me!" I shouted as I leapt out the open balcony door and did an ally-oop up onto the roof of the house. Kento did the same and cornered me against the chimney. "Ah-hah! We meet again!" he shouted in an evil voice. I heard the teens below asking each other if they knew what was going on. I thought frantically about what I could do to get away and not harm Kento. He made a dive for me and I leapt over him and tried to land on the roof again, but I slipped and fell. I caught a footing and leapt into the air again and prepared to land on the ground. Something happened and pain shot up my whole body from my legs. I screamed and lost focus, landing on my side in the mud. I struggled to get up but couldnt move my legs. I yelped in pain and fell back to the ground. I felt the ground vibrate as Kento landed near me. He picked me up and slammed me against the wall of the house. My face contorted as the pain consumed me. "I....give......up..." I gasped, shuddering. His face softened up when he realized I was in pain. "What's wrong? I have done worse before and you have never complained or given up." he said, confused. "I....dont...know.." I gasped and went limp. He threw me over his shoulder and quickly carried me into the house. "Mia. Cover the table with some towels or something." he instructed and she did it. He laid me down on the table and I winced. "Whats wrong?" Rowen asked, checking me over. His eyes widened and he stumbled backwards. "So...Whats wrong with her?!?!" Kento shouted. He went into a long, medical explanation about what was wrong with me. Kento stood and was about to slap him upside the head when I grabbed his hand. I shook my head and told him to sit. "Now, Rowen, could you please translate that into a language that we could understand?" I calmly asked, producing a few nervous giggles from those around me. "Well, figuratively speaking, it looks like someone took a high-speed blender to the muscles in your legs and lower back." he said and set to work massaging them, trying to straighten them out. It took him a while but he finally succeeded. I stood and took a few wobbly steps. "What could cause this?" I asked, losing balance and falling to my knees. He helped me up. "Well, figuratively speaking, I have no idea." he said helplessly. Kento stood and threw me over his shoulder and carried me to my room. He sat me down and apologized. I told him it wasnt his fault, but of course he didnt believe me. Kyle came in and Kento left. "You ok?" he asked. I smiled and nodded, shifting positions on the bed. We heard a crash outside and Kyle went to investigate. I heard some commotion outside and, to my astonishment, I saw Kyle thrown into my bed on top of me. I stared out the open door at a shadowy figure standing just outside the door. I saw other figures come into the scene and try to keep it away from us. They were not very successful in this attempt and the figure made its way into my room. I saw then that it was Sekmet. He lunged at me and held me down so that I couldnt transform into my armor. I screamed and kicked at his stomach. He sneered at Kyle and dragged me into a warp, screaming and cussing. 

I woke up in shackels. I saw Sekmet in front of me, staring and smiling. I looked down and I saw that my pajamas were shreaded. "Pervert!" I screamed. His smile only widened as he moved closer. "I will have you now. You can not escape. You see over there," he said, pointing to a case with a shield around it to keep out everyone except him, "is your armor crystal. You can not transform and escape, like before." he said, cackling. I stood my ground. "Well....You see this?!?!" I said, showing him my ring. "This is a bond between me and KYLE, not you. You can not break the bond. We are to be wed!." I shouted, feeling proud of myself. "Tsk, Tsk. Looks like I am going to have to do something about that ring." he said, bringing out a sword. I shuddered away from him. He moved up close to me, pressing me into the wall. "What is the matter? You are not....SCARED...are you?" he said, smiling an evil smile. I turned my face away and tried to move away from him. All of a sudden, I felt the presence of a ronin. I think he felt the presence also because he stopped for a moment. I looked quickly through the walls to see who it was. It was Dais. I sent him a message through my mind to tell him to quickly use his illusions because Sekmet could sense him. He did, and I threw an extra illusion around him to make it seem more realistic. He illusioned himself as a dynasty soldier, and I threw the illusion that there were more around him. He thanked me for the added illusion and I sent him a feeling of helplessness. He quickened his pace. Sekmet seemed satisfied that there were no problems and went back to my torture. "Now...what to do about that ring." he pondered. He brought the sword up to my wrist. "Shall you do something about it, or" he pressed on the sword a little, making blood seep down my arm, "shall I?" he finished. Tears welled up in my eyes and I let my head fall against his chest. "Please. Just kill me. I have gone through enough all ready. No one will miss me. Just hurry and get it over with." I said, lifting my head so he could cut my throat or whatever. He dropped the sword and stroked my face. "Dont you get it? I dont want to KILL you, I want to HAVE you, to own you. You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I have wanted you since I saw you the first time, when Talpa brought you and Anubis to the dynasty." he said, kissing my forehead. I winced, shuddered, and drew away from him. He moved away and snapped his fingers. His recruited warriors apeared around him. "You called master?" they asked in unison. "I need the females only." he instructed and the males bowed and vanished. The females gathered closer to him. "I want you to bathe her and dress her in something decent. Watch her though, for she is a tricky little bitch. She was taught some illusions from Dais and a few others from some of the other warriors and she is a very skilled warrior." he said with a smile. I could hear him mutter something about how that was why I was such a good prize. He then vanished and the females set to work. One of them seemed to hate me more than the others. I found out that she was Sekmet's adopted daughter and that she didnt like the thought of there being competition for attention. I sat back, too tired to struggle. I heard the door open and Dais entered, still under the illusion. He stepped forward and said that he needed to take me to a different room when they had me dressed. *What about my orb?* I sent to him. *Never mind that. We need to get you out of HEEEEEEEEEREEEEE!!!* he sent, but the end was messed up as pain seared through him. I looked around him and saw Sekmet standing behind him. He had struck a blow to his head, bringing him out of the illusion. I writhed, trying to free myself. I saw him lash out at Dais. I then saw other warriors enter, including Kyle. He struck at Kyle, causing blood to flow. "I will kill you for trying to steal my bride!" Sekmet shouted. He knocked Kyle down and prepared to strike the final blow. "NOOOOOOO!!!!" I shouted. With every ounce of my strength, I pulled upward and broke the shackels. I leapt up to my feet and glared at Sekmet. "THAT IS IT!!!" I shouted and screamed. It came out as an animal roar that peirced the ears of those around me to the point where they couldnt stand it. I turned to face my orb and called it forth. It came toward me at the speed of light. It broke the shield and it landed in my hands, knocking me back a few dozen feet. I held it above my head and screamed my transformation. It skipped the sub armor and went straight to the armor. I faced him, extremely pissed off now. "Sekmet! Face me!" I shouted. He turned and fell to his knees. "I dont want to hurt you." he whimpered. My arms dropped to my sides and I stood there, stunned. I looked to Kyle for an answer and he shrugged his shoulders. "Dammit! Now you will make me feel guilty for this." I shouted and kicked at the wall. I sensed a surge come from Sekmet. I looked, just in time to see him leap at me. I didnt have time to duck and I was thrown into the wall. Pain surged through my body. I kicked at him, but it didnt do much damage. "AMBER!!!" Kyle shouted and dove at Sekmet, pulling him off of me. I couldnt breath, move, anything. I sent my love to Kyle and everything went black. 

"SEKMET!!! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!!! YOU WILL PAY SEVERELY!!!" Kyle shouted. I looked down and saw the scene from above. I looked over and saw my limp, dead body lying there, blood flowing everywhere. Cool. I thought. Wait. What am I saying?!?! I am dead. That is not cool. I was going to have a normal life for once and Sekmet ruined it. That is not cool. I thought angrily. Why does everything bad always have to happen to me? I asked myself and floated down to where I was in front of Sekmet. I slapped him and his face felt the hit, but he could see no one. Now this IS COOL!!! I thought. I started slapping, kicking, punching, and throwing him around. The warriors looked at him in confusion. Myra sat back and laughed. She definitely had her father's humor. I thought sarcastically. I threw him through a window and watched as he hit the ground. HA HA!!! Serves you right! I thought. I skipped over to my body and touched my face. Hellooo? Wake up! I tried to say, pushing the head around. I got frustrated with that and sat back. Kyle moved up to my body and listened for breath or a heart beat. When he could find none, he sat back with me in his arms and cried. I tried to soothe him but it is not too easy with no body. He could feel some tears being wiped away, but he didnt know what was doing it. "Amber?" he asked. I found a rock and picked it up and dropped it. He watched in astonishment. "Amber?" he repeated. I picked it up again and wrote 'YES' on the floor. He reached out around my body to feel the air. "Where are you? Come back, please." he whimpered. I wrote on the floor again. 'I tried. Failed. Sorry.' and drew a sad face. He burst into more tears. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I felt something, as if a giant vacuum was turned on. I felt a whooshing and all went black again.

"Errrrargh." I mumbled and moved around. "Mia, for the fifth time, it is too damn early for scu-scu-schooooo*yawn*oool." I mumbled and turned over. I felt something warm, and then something cold and wet hit my face. "Eeeeeeyuck!!! Who let the furballs in?!?!" I shouted and bolted upright. "AMBER!!!!" Kyle shouted and threw his arms around me. "Whu-whu *yawn* what did I do?" I mumbled. "You were dead, silly. Do you even know where we are???" Kyle asked joyously. "Home I suppose." I mumbled and stretched and yawned again. "We are in Sekmet's castle!!!" he shouted. I leapt to my feet. "Where is that bloody bastard? I just remembered what he did to me. Oooooooooo! He is going to die. D-I-E!!!! DIE!!!" I shouted and let out another animal wail. I could feel my incisors grow longer in my mouth as my animal soul emerged because of my anger. My animal soul is a jet-black panther. I grinned, showing my lengthy incisors and frightening the younger of the teens. I closed my mouth and giggled and apologized. My eyes began to glow an errie yellow as my strength increased. I ran to the window to see if I could find Sekmet. He had obviously gotten up from the fall and re-entered his castle. I began to sniff the air for his scent and found it. I bounded out of the room on all fours and then on two again, racing top-speed down the halls. I found the room where the rest of the recruits and such were being held and I entered the room by knocking down the door. It was dark except for the candles around the recruits. I slowly walked forward, not able to tell if there were others in the room besides the recruits because there were so many recruits. For some reason, pain shot up my body, banishing my armor. I looked down and I was dressed in a translucent kimono. I tried to call my armor and nothing happened. Frustrated, I just set to work freeing the recruits. "What are you doing?" a voice hissed from behind me. I turned to see Sekmet there, watching me. I ignored him, continuing my task. "Why do you ignore me? You know I can easily kill you. Why do you not at least attempt to defend yourelf?" he asked quietly. Again, I ignored him. I heard the guys enter the room. "Sekmet!!! Uh......Amber!?!?!" Kyle exclaimed as he saw what I was wearing. I blushed and turned around to see them. They gasped when I did this. Evan, Aric, and Rune turned their eyes downward. I made a move toward them, but a sound behind me made me halt. "Amber!!! Watch out!!" Kyle shouted and ran toward me. I looked at him strangely and was about to turn around when I felt it. A sharp pain, beginning at my belly and radiating from there, spread throughout my body. I looked down and saw the tip of a sword jutting out of my abdomen. My eyes flashed in horor and my glaze met with Aric's. His eyes were those of a scared rabbit as he also ran toward me. I then looked toward Kyle who was running full speed toward me. I turned to see who it was that had impaled me and saw the eyes of my best friend staring back at me. "Ma-ma-matt? Uhhhhh....." I stammered and colapsed to my knees. I felt a sharper pain as he pulled the sword out of me. My eyes watered and I clasped my hand over my belly. My eyes met with theirs once more and I collapsed onto the floor, feeling my strength and energy fading as the blood poured out of me. I fell into blackness as Kyle reached me. "Gu-good bu-byeee....uh....." I whispered as the darkness crept up. 

Once again I was allowed to see the proceeding events from above as my spirit left my dead body. I could not hear or touch anything though. I only saw it in semi-slow motion. I saw Kyle pick me up and start crying. He stood to challenge Sekmet and did not see Aric take his place in holding me. I could see the look in Aric's eyes that I saw so much while we were together before. I smiled and floated down near him. I could see his virtue glowing on his forehead: wisdom. I saw Sekmet drop to his knees and weep. I glanced at him in confusion and then returned my stare to Aric. An errie green light engulfed him and spread around the room. This caused Kyle to turn and it looked like he was yelling at Aric. I watched in amazement as the blood dissappeared and my wound healed. He lay my head on the ground and proceeded to do CPR on me. I felt that damn whooshing again as I was pulled back into my body. 

"Aaaaric!!!" I coughed into his mouth as he was about to release another breath into my body. He pulled back and his face lit up in relief. I smiled at him and looked at Kyle. He looked a little jealous, and turned his back to us and focused his attention on Sekmet again. I looked over to Matt and he was shaking his head, as if to clear it. Aric lay me down on the floor and stood. "Relax. You need rest." he said and prepared to join the battle that was seemingly about to take place. "You are the one *cough* who needs to rest." I wheezed. He smiled fondly and returned his attention back to Sekmet. He sat there, staring at me with what looked like happiness.(Although with a face like his you cant really tell the difference) He stood and knocked the guys out of the way with little trouble and made his way swiftly to me. He scooped me up in his arms and, again, all I could see was blackness.

I shifted uneasily on the soft surface before I opened my eyes. I looked at the serene surroundings with confusion. *What happened? I thought I was in the castle.* I thought. You are. Sekmet sent to me telepathically. I sat up quickly and searched for him. He appeared slowly in front of me in a dark green and black gi. I was still in the translucent kimono. I backed a little ways away from him. He moved forward and enveloped me in his thin arms. I was so worried. I thought I had lost you forever. he sent. I shuddered as he kissed my shoulder. Why are you afraid of me? I did not mean for that blow to kill you back in that other room. I did not even want it to injure you, but I was not able to control my strength. I am truly sorry. he said as soothingly as he could. Feeling out of place, I just sat there. I did not know what to do. I had never in my entire life seen this side of Sekmet. Please. Return my embrace. I only want to be with you. he sent in a desperation. I...I cant. I am sorry, but I have an arranged marriage. I have been torn away from many relationships because of the dynasty and such. I wish every day that I was not imortal. I have to watch my friends grow old and die. I am sorry if I do not return you caring, but I can not. I would be punished if I did. I sent back to him, also with a deep sorrowful feeling. Hmmmm....I see. he said, pulling away. I hung my head and stood. Please take me back to them. I do not mean to shun you away from me, but I need to be with them. I sent. He did so, changing back to his armor before the others saw him. I slowly walked over to the guys, still hanging my head. Thank you. I sent and he sent his love and a 'your welcome'. I continued past the guys and out of the room. I heard arguing behind me as I kept on walking. I finally reached the castle gates and the soldiers let me through. I walked through the portal and arrived back home. I came back to reality then and panicked. *What am I doing? They need my help! I must have been under a trance or something.* I thought and turned to see that the portal had vanished. I kicked at the ground and began to walk home. The trees swayed with the wind and a single cherry blossom floated down and landed in my outstretched hand. I smiled and tilted my hand to let it float down to the ground. *I wonder if Sekmet decided not to fight. I wonder what they are all doing.* I thought. I found the strength to knock on the door. Mia answered it, in shock to see me alone. "Where is everyone else?" she asked. I shrugged and cast my eyes downward. "Sekmet put me in a trance that sent me to the gate home. He didnt want anything else to happen to me." I stated sadly. "Anything else? What on earth do you mean by that?" she asked. While she escorted me into the house I told her of the deaths I encountered. She stopped and shuddered. "You died? More than once? Wow." she murmered. I shrugged again, sitting down near Ryo. "You ok?" he asked. I nodded and leaned against the wall. *Something dosent feel right.* I thought worriedly. "I will be right back. I, uh, need to find Anubis. His ass better be somewhere close." I crankily muttered and stood. I finally remembered that I was still in the see-through robe and I threw my arms around myself to cover my flesh showing through. "Sorry for flashing you guys." I muttered. I quickly made my way outside and sat on the porch. Anubis. Come here now please. I sent out. "You called?" he asked and appeared. "Do you have any idea how the guys are?" I asked worriedly. He grimly nodded and told me they were doing well. "Um. Your destiny has, changed, though. I will tell you more when they return." he said and dissappeared. *What does he mean by that?* I thought and gave a sideways glance. I stood and went to my room to change. Halfway there, I heard something above me. I glanced up in time to see something red fall on me. "What tha......hey you! Get offa me!" I shouted and pushed the red thing off of me. I sat bolt upright to see Kyle staring at me with a big grin on his face. "We won!!! He surrendered!!!" he shouted. I slowly stood and brushed myself off. All around me, portals were opening and the recruits and the others were appearing through them. I smiled and kept walking to my room. "Um. Amber, wait. Anubis has something to tell you." he murmered. I noted a hint of uncertainty in his voice and turned to look at him. I searched his eyes for what was wrong but couldnt figure it out. "First...We PARTY!!!" I heard someone shout, and thus began the party.


	7. The Aftermath

Disclaimer: Borrowed characters..yadda yadda..read story before...oh, and there is a sex scene in this one and it is a really bad one because A) I wrote these stories in High School and B) I have no social life so I dont know what "good sex" is like so I dont know how to write about it..ah well...on with the story...

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After the party, I was bushed. As Kyle and I walked back toward our room, he stopped me. "I told you that Anubis had something to tell you. Well, Anubis!" he shouted. "That is correct." Anubis stated and appeared. "You do not have to marry Kyle anymore." he said. I gave him a sidelong glance. "What if I want to?" I asked. Kyle stepped forward, taking my hands in his. I smiled at him and tried to hug him. He instead stepped backwards, taking the ring from my finger. Not looking at me, he turned and placed it on Angel's hand, who had followed us outside. She gasped and tears formed in her eyes. "Marry me?" he asked. I fell back, tears also forming in my eyes. "How?" I whispered and fled to my room. I retreated to the darkness under my bed and cried myself to sleep.

I awoke to a door slamming shut and someone violently throwing an object on the bed. I heard the drawers open and someone taking clothes out of them. *Kyle* I thought and quit breathing and moving so he couldnt hear me. He muttered a few cuss words and stumbled out of the room and I was alone again. I slept for what seemed like forever. I heard the door open again and someone searching my room. "Amber?" I heard Kayura and Dais whisper. I kept quiet. One of them pulled up the bedspread and looked under the bed on the other side and saw me. "Here she is." I heard Dais say. Kayura dashed to the side that I was facing and fell to her belly to look under. "Amber! It has been three days! Come out and eat something or you will starve to death." she shouted with a lot of worry and anger in her voice. "Why should I? My whole being is love and yet I am not allowed to love anyone. I have been torn from every relationship I have ever had. Anubis chooses to play games with me. He new that I was not destined to marry Kyle, because destinies do not change. He just wanted to send his easily love-struck sister to love and lose again and he has no idea how much this breaks my heart." I hissed and rolled over onto my back. I crawled out from under my bed and dashed out of my room. Kayura was in close persuit. "Amber! Where are you going?" she shouted. I leapt onto my motorcycle and sped away. Everything was a blur until I stopped. I was at a river in a secluded clearing. I lay my bike down and lay down to sleep, not caring if I ever woke up again.

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*I have got to find her. God, dont let anything happen to her.* thought the handsome teen as he dashed down the empty road. *Where the hell is she? Why did she run away like that?!?!* he thought in desparation. *I guess I should have let her know that I still care for her. I...will never forgive myself if I do not find her!* he thought, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of his eyes as he ran. He gradually began slowing down. He finally stopped all together, panting and trying to catch his breath. *Where is she!* he thought frantically. I can't sense her anywhere!* He lifted his head toward the woods just as a white horse emerged. He straightened to stare at the creature. *Is that....her horse?* he thought. Only one way to find out. "Is Amber you mistress?" he asked the white horse. He shook his head to indicate 'yes'. "Can you take me to her please? I feel she is not well." he asked in desperation. The horse moved forward, allowing him to get on his back. The horse began to gallop into the woods. They both kept their heads down to keep from being hit by the low branches. They emerged in a clearing. Ahead he could see Amber, collapsed against her bike. He leapt off of the horse and raced toward the limp body. Quickly taking her up in his arms, he pulled the bike up and sped off in search of a hospital. He came across a medical research institute and decided that it was good enough. He parked the bike and raced toward the door. He banged on the door for a long time until a lady opened the door. "Amber? What's wrong with her?" the lady asked, leading him to a table, which he lay her on. "I dont know. I finally found her in the woods by a river. She was very depressed, and I think that she has not been eating." he told her. She looked at him with an interest that he has seen in many girls' eyes. "So...what is your name?" she asked, eyeing him. "Aric. Aric Date. Her, um, boyfriend." he said. "Liar." she said. "Although you wish she was." He looked at her with surprise. "How would you know something like that? And how do you know her?" he asked. It was her turn to look at him in surprise. "She didn't....tell you? She works here." she stated. Aric's face twisted to a very un-becoming-of-him look and he shrieked. "She works...HERE!!!" he shouted, glancing at his surroundings. There were more test tubes and medical equipments here than he had ever seen at Sensei Rowen's hospital. "But...how!!!" he exclaimed. "She came to me in search of a very well paying job. She asked me not to question age or anything, but to quiz her with intelligence questions. I did, and she more than passed. She found a cure for one man in here and brought him to her home, which is obviously where you also stay. She finally explained to me why she needed the well paying job and has been confiding in me since, although I feel there is more to her story. Tell me, why is such a youthful woman so intelligent, since you live in the same household and all." she asked. "Well, I can't really tell you, but I guess you will find out in a few seconds when you get done analyzing her blood. She is so intelligent because she has been on this earth for a long time. She is an immortal and despises it greatly. Please don't let this get out to anyone." he told her. Her eyes widened. "The only reason that I believe you is because of how intelligent she is. None of our greatest researchers know some of the things that she knows, and they have been doing this for a very long time." she murmured. Amber began to twitch on the table. "Why?.....Why?...." croaked Amber over and over, repeating that one word. Aric lifted her head and shoulders into his arms and hugged her to calm her down. Her virtue, love, lit up on her forehead. "What....is THAT?!?!" shouted the woman. "Well....now I have another thing to explain." he sighed and lay Amber back down. He took out a crystal sphere from his pocket and held it up. "Have you ever heard of the mystical Ronin Warriors? The warriors who can call forth an armor to battle evil?" he asked her. She nodded. "I....uh...thought they were only a legend though." she stammered. He grinned and his virtue also lit up on his forehead. "Actually, it is very real. She is one. I am one. There are many more and we just finished a battle actually." he stated very matter-of-factly. The woman beamed. "I can do research on her now! Of course I wont tell anyone about it, but it will be so cool to know more about imortality." she shouted. "Uhhh....nooo....why me?" Amber moaned, shifting uncomfortably on the hospital bed. "Hang in there girl. I still love you, no matter what." he whispered in her ear. She smiled and drifted back into a shiftless sleep.

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"Wu-where am I?" I muttered and sat up. It looked like I was back in my room. "You are home." a voice said. I looked around and saw Aric sitting in a chair. He had brought in a table and chairs. He now sat in front of a candle-lit dinner. I blushed and stood on shaky legs. In one swift motion he was in front of me and he caught me before I could fall. I looked up into his clear blue eyes and turned a darker shade. I moved away from him and sat back down on the bed. "I am sorry, but.....I...dont know anymore...I am afraid to...oh, forget it.." I stammered and my eyes went downward. "Forget Anubis, forget Kyle, and forget anything else that bothers you now. I still care about you and I never really stopped. I always watched you in school and here while other girls competed for my attention. I never stopped caring for you. I dont think I ever will." he stated. I looked at him sorrowfully. "I....I...well..." I stammered. He put a finger to my lips and another to his. "Shhh...enjoy the quiet." he whispered. I smiled and took his hand. "I am going to try ONE MORE TIME with this love thing. If it dosent work out, I dont know what I will do but it will be drastic." I said. He smiled and moved the hand up to stroke my face. "I will make it work." he said. "I just dont know if...if....if I can trust again. I thought he really cared for me." I said, tears forming again. He kissed me on the cheek and then moved back and wiped away my tears. "I will be there for you. Dont worry." he said and took me into his arms. I smiled and relaxed. "You need food. Please come eat." he said. He helped me to the table and pushed my chair in. I smiled up at him as he made his way around to his seat. "Smells good." I said and dove in. I ate as politely as I could for someone who had nothing to eat for....god knows how many days. I finished and in one motion I stood and hopped into my bed. He had dressed me in a thick kimono and I was burning up. I climbed under the covers and took it off. I thought about what I wanted to wear and it appeared on my body. A simple yellow pajamas set was what I wanted. I climbed up with my head poking out and grinned at Aric. He smiled and sipped his water. I relaxed into the bed and sighed. "Damn imortality." I whispered to myself. "Hmmm?" Aric questioned. "Oh, nothing. Just thinking out loud." I told him. He smiled slyly and slid over to my bed. He bent down and gingerly kissed me. I returned the kiss, still afraid from the last little relationship. He stroked my now very short hair and depened the kiss. I thought seriously about pushing him away, but the neglect that I had been experiencing left me with a gap to fill in my heart and I allowed him to continue. He began moving downward, kissing my neck and shoulders. My back arched at this new feeling. I had never been kissed in this way before. This was going to be a long night!

"Anubis!" Kayura shouted angrily. "Yes sister?" he asked and appeared in front of her. She stomped around, fuming with anger. "How could you do this?!?! And to your own TWIN SISTER!! She almost died from depression!!!" she shouted. If he would have been a human and not a spirit, she would have smacked him in the head. "Well, as you can see, she is not depressed anymore!" he said, allowing her a view into Amber's room. Aric was beginning to un-button his shirt while still kissing on her neck. "What happened to the arranged marriage thing with Kyle?" she asked with a questioning look. "Well, it was not Kyle she was supposed to marry, but she does have an arranged marriage. I just used Kyle to keep her away from Aric." he explained. "Then why are you letting him have her now?" she asked, even more confused. "Well..." he began with a grin. "That is not Aric in there! Amber is not the only one that Dais taught illusions to!!! And now that I am not human anymore and I am a spirit, I have more powers, and the powers I had are much stronger. Behold, the real Aric is fast asleep upstairs in the male dorm." he added, allowing her to view into the male dorm at the sleeping Aric. "If that is not Aric, then who......." she trailed off, turning her face away after a glance. She saw that they were now undressed and her upbringing taught her that she was not supposed to butt into other people's businesses, especially of that nature. She wanted to know who the person was in there though, so she stuck around to find out.

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"Aric, I cant." I moaned, but I was so weak that I could not fight him off. He dug into the bed, getting a strong hold on it and thrust into me. "Oh my goood!" I moaned. "Please, no more...please!" I whimpered. He continued though. He kissed me deeply and whispered 'I love you's' and continued. He began to move faster and harder as he neared a climax. I saw his head lift as he strained to move faster. "Armor of wildfire, please give me the power to break this illusion!!!" he shouted. A character formed on his forehead, only it was not the 'wisdom' symbol of Aric's armor. It was 'virtue'......Kyle's symbol! "Kyle?" I moaned, preparing for the climax. His body kept moving, but it transformed into a pure light and then revealed his true form. It was Ryo! He looked as if he had never aged. He stopped glowing just in time for the climax. He arched his back and put his strength into it, moaning. I surpressed the scream and dug my nails into his shoulders. When it was over I collapsed into the bed, Ryo falling on top of me. We both were breathing real hard and sweating. I breathed in deeply to relax and looked into his eyes. "You have some explaining to do." I breathed. He smiled and sat up on his elbows. "Well..." he began the story.

"He never really aged at all." Anubis explained to the shocked Kayura. "Ru-ru-ryo?!?!" she exclaimed, eyes widening. "After Amber was captured, he begged me to make him an immortal so he can make Sekmet pay for kidnapping her. He was the one who she was supposed to marry, and I normally would not have honored his request, but evil would have ruled if that marriage never took place. That was the only reason." he explained. "You care nothing about her feelings or preserving a love, do you?" she asked angrily. "I know not anymore what feelings are like. I only know of preservation of good and restriction of evil and what I must do to do these. And besides, you know how much she loved him." he stated. Kayura stormed off, leaving Anubis there watching over the two lovers.

"...and here I am." Ryo finished, sighing. "I told you a million times before, it is not good to be immortal! It gets boring and lonely! You have to watch your friends die. It is not a good thing. I want to be mortal so badly." I explained hurriedly. He put one finger over my mouth to silence me. "I dont care, and I wont be bored as long as I have you." he said with a smile. I turned red and lay back, admitting defeat. "We had better get some sleep. I am tired." I said. "You should be. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I dont know what I will do." he muttered, turning over to lay next to me. I cuddled up on his shoulder and fell fast asleep.

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Anubis watched over the sleeping couple all night, wishing he could have felt the kind of love they were feeling. He sighed and turned his gaze toward the stars. "Looks like all I have are you guys to keep me company." he muttered, stopping his wandering gaze to admire an exceptionally bright star. "Hmmmm...." he mumbled aloud, thinking and dreaming. A rustling in the bushes nearby caught his attention and his senses became alert again. "Who is there?" he asked loudly. Wilhem, the youngest of the New Bloods, came crawling out of them cautiously. "Sorry A-anubis. I va-vas stargazing, und I, um......" he stuttered, scratching the back of his head nervously. Anubis grinned at the young boy and moved his hand in a 'shooing' fashion. "Get to bed, young Wilhem. We need you rested." he soothed. Wilhem yawned and padded across the lawn to his bunking area. Anubis let out a frustrated sigh and wondered what he was going to do with these strange teenage New Bloods. He thought about what the consequences would have been if he would have acted in that fashion as a child and shook his head. 

"Anubis?" came a weak-sounding voice. He darted around and met the worried eyes of his twin. "Are you ok?" she asked, the exhaustion showing immensly from her voice and her glazed-over eyes. She dropped to her knees and leaned against the doorway, smiling up at him. "Amber, you need your rest." he cautioned and tried to pick her up. She brushed his hands away and shook her head. "I am a big girl. I can do it." she said with a tired grin. She grasped the doorway tightly and pulled herself onto shaky legs. He moved so he could catch her if she fell. "Have you been watching over me all night, Anubis?" she asked, almost hesitantly. He nodded and helped her into the room. "I was the one who threw the illusion over Ryo. Are you still angry at me?" he asked her with an equal amount of hesitance. She shook her head and leaned on his shoulder. "Nu-nooooo......." she mumbled in mid-yawn and fell asleep on his shoulder. He shook his head and picked her up gingerly, placing her in the bed with her head resting on Ryo's shoulder again and stepped back to survey his work. Pleased with the scene, he silently made his way out the door, pausing just outside to catch a glimpse of the smile that had worked its way to his sister's face. 

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"Come on! I know you can do better than that, Denki Rat!!!" came a angry woman's voice from outside. Amber, shocked into sudden alertness, was able to meet the floor face-to-face for the first time in a while. She sat up and began to fervently rub the knot forming on her head. She glanced out the window at a woman and a guy fighting it out in hand-to-hand combat. It looked as if no sensais were around, so she assumed that someone had started it over anger. She stood on still-shaky legs and quickly dressed herself in shorts and a shirt that was tied up around her waist and dashed outside. 

"You theiving little brat! I will tear you APART!!!!" the man shouted, making a dash at the girl full-force. She easily dodged it and landed a kick to his lower back, making him cringe and fall to his knees.

"Stop it you two!" Amber shouted, dashing in-between the two to separate them. The woman glared at her and waved her arms frantically. "Get out of my way you snotty red-head if ya know what is good for ya! This is a fight between me and that Denki Rat, Shane! Bug off!" she shouted to the thin, pale red-head. Amber's face went almost as red as her hair and she began to shake a bit. Shane glared over the now-angry Amber to the girl who had just landed a kick to him.

"Night! Why did you have to go and do a bloody rotten thing like that! You got her embarassed and she is probably a bit pissed too!" he shouted to her, ignighting her anger even more. "DENKI RAT!!! I WILL EAT YOU FOR BREAKFAST!!!" she shouted, leaping into the air. Amber hopped up also and caught her in mid-flight, throwing her effortlessly to the ground. "You obviously dont know who you are dealing with, Night." Amber growled. "Leave him alone and go about your daily businesses. He obviously does not want to fight." Night regarded her with intensifying anger. "Miss....miss....whatever your name is. I dont care who YOU are and you obviously dont know who I am! You dont mess with me!" she screamed, lunging toward the red-head at full force. Amber raised her hands in front of her and closed her eyes. A bolt of energy shot from her out-stretched palms and into Night. The woman writhed on the ground and lay still, eyes open and gasping for breath. "How......did......you.....do that?" she gasped. Amber leaned over her and grinned. "You should have been able to tell. I am Anubis' twin sister." she whispered. Night's eyes widened impossibly more and she inched slowly away from the red-head. She finally made it to her feet and ran full-speed away from her. She shook her head and turned back to the shocked Shane. She bowed and apologized for her behavior and returned to her room. Ryo had awaken and was in the shower. She grinned and decided he needed some company.

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Clad in an orange shirt and a pair of jeans, a young woman dashed across the empty yard to the lone dorm in search of the red-head that had not been there long. She knocked furiously on the door and waited impatiently for an answer. Finally Ryo answered the door and greeted her. "Where is the red-head?" Myra asked him hurriedly. He glanced at her with a puzzled look and spoke into the room for her to come. The girl appeared at the door and stared questioningly at the dark-haired girl at the door and came to the conclusion that she was the daughter of Kento. She resembled him in looks, but definetly not in hight. She was much taller than her father. "Sekhmet's son has revived. Come and see!" she said hurriedly. Amber's face lit up and she rushed past Ryo and bolted across the yard with the two she had left behind following closely. She made it to the house and rushed into the room he had been staying in to check him out. He glanced at her questioningly and then his memory was sparked. "Amber!" he exclaimed with a weak smile. "I thought for sure that my dad had....um....killed you." he muttered, sipping at the water that Angel had brought him. I grinned and moved behind him. "Nah. I am too strong for that. Here..lets see if we can get you up and walking." I murmered. I put my arms under his and locked them together at the middle of his chest. Making sure he was ready, I pulled him up to his feet. He swayed a little, but regained his balance. "Ok. Now for the healing process" she said, cracking her nuckles and stretching. She held them above her in an outstretched position and closed her eyes. Her form became transparent and then totally invisible. All of a sudden the room filled with a bright light and there she stood in monk attire holding a glorious staff. At the end it had a sharp dagger-like point. From there it broke off into a series of twisting and inter-twining metal vines that ran all the way up to form a series of leaves. They held a heart-shaped metal cage-type thing that held a mystical blue orb. She grinned at him from under the large hat and held the staff toward him. Light emitted from it and healed him almost instantly. She then dissappeared again and reappeared in her normal attire-a shirt tied above her waist and a pair of short shorts. His eyes got wide and he blushed a deep red color. "You are so beautiful" he muttered. "Uh....hands off, dude. She is taken." Ryo said from behind her. The room burst into laughter. Just then, Myra came back in the room. One glance at him and she began to swoon. "Oh my gosh you are so handsome." she muttered and moved toward him. He glanced frantically around him and took off in the direction of the door. I brought my hand up to my head and shook it. "Myra, dont startle the poor boy." I quietly ordered. She still persisted in persuing her victim. I chased after her to try and stop her, but found neither of them. *Just keep hidden. She will probably lose interest and go talk to her best bud* I sent to him. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Angel standing there. "Thanks" she said, smiling slightly. I grinned and nodded. I walked outside with Ryo closely behind me. We sat beneath a tree and discussed our plans. We discussed different times and places for the wedding, including details. We had been so engrossed in our conversation that we did not notice the sun go down. When it began to darken, we then made our way to our room. As I fell asleep in his arms, I began to dream about how our life would be together. I could hardly wait! 


End file.
